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At OCS; Have eye problem

Mr. Blonde

Mr. Blonde

My ass is a motherfuckin' champion
pilot
Hey guys,

I'm here in Newport at OCS just starting my 5th week and would like some info/advice on my situation.

During my in-processing flight physical the eye docs did a more thorough eye exam than I've had before and found something. Apparently they say I have a small hole in my eye near my retina. According to the eye doc it's a benign condition which for most people he would reccomend no treatment whatsoever, however NAMI will most likely require a waiver for it. I guess the fear is if the hole is large enough the retina could detach under high G's. The possible options he said might happen include:

1) Simple 'ok' and waiver given; no surgery

2) Laser surgery ordered for waiver; wait time for waiver = 3 months after surgery

3) More tests to see if the hole causes any noticeable blind spots

4) Possible NPQ :eek:

I've always had 20/20 vision and never noticed any spotting or other eye problems. The flight surgeon doesn't know what NAMI will say but he said there were others before with my condition who made it through but he can't remember the course of action NAMI took with them. It's been 4 weeks since my physical and I haven't heard back from him so I don't know what's going on, if it's still an issue or if he got it cleared up.

Does anyone know (feddoc, etc.) how this condition will affect me? If I have to have eye surgery will they most likely let me commission and have the surgery in P-cola? There's no way I'm having it here without a second opinion and then leaving my class and rolling into H-class for 3 months :icon_rage. I need advice so in case they come at me and try to screw me to the wall with this I can fight back.

Thanks
 
Finally, something I can give advice on :) I have the same problem in both of my eyes. The condition was officially diagnosed as lattice degeneration. Basically, my retinas are stretched out and therefore thinner than usual. This has caused microscopic holes to form in them which required laser surgery to seal them (quick and painless). The reason for the surgery to close up the holes is that they may bunch together and form a tear, which could lead to a detached retina, a much more serious condition. I'm sure your doc told you, but if you start seeing more "floating spots" than usual, or quick burst of lights that can't be explained, you need to see a doctor real quick because your retina may be about to detach.

If it makes you feel better, I was recommended and received a waiver. The waiver stipulates that once a year, at my annual flight physical, they have to dilate my eyes and do a more extensive look at my retinas to make sure no more holes have formed. Every five years I also have to resubmit the waiver. This was approximately 4 years ago, so if I can still get the ok, I'm sure you will be ok with the waiver. PM me for more details and good luck.
 
I have heard about this before, and am afraid I may have a similar condition. I have had a spot on my eye (some call them "floaters") that appears in the same position, but it moves with a lag when I move my eye. So it's in almost the same position at all times, it just lags behind my eye movement slightly (like an outer layer moving over an inner layer). It's only noticeable when I look at light backgrounds, and isn't really a nuisance to me at the moment.

However, I've had it for a couple years now. I've had at 20/20 or better vision all of my life and was afraid this would be a medical disqualification, so it's good to hear that there may be hope for me. I don't know if it would limit me from being a pilot to being a backseater, but hopefully it's not this or something serious to affect my application.
 
Mr. Blonde said:
There's no way I'm having it here without a second opinion and then leaving my class and rolling into H-class for 3 months :icon_rage.
Thanks
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Why not? You would be in great shape...the laser surgery would be done...you would get to see Rhode Island in all of its winter glory...where's the downside?
 
picklesuit said:
Why not? You would be in great shape...the laser surgery would be done...you would get to see Rhode Island in all of its winter glory...where's the downside?
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I didn't see any any smilies, so hopefully my sarcasm detector is not giving me a false warning here :D. Let's see, 3 months in the winter in this hellhole without my wife, or 3 months on the beach with her in Florida? :icon_wink I'm fairly confident It'll all work out, at least I'm counting on the power of positive thinking...

By the way, things have changed up here, but then again it's been different each of the last few classes. Officer portion was nixed from our RLP and moved to 8th week PI as a seperate inspection, it is back down to 100 points/ 80 to pass, and we only rolled 6 from a class of 62 :eek:

Thanks for the advice all,

Blonde, out.
 
Don't have any good advice as my NOMI problems have been from a winged aviator standpoint, but good luck up there, and if you need anything I can help with you know how to get a hold of me.
 
Thanks MB, red ryder, I'll keep that in mind.

Only 23 more days till candio phase! :D
 
spots and floaters

Ive developed this same condition as well. Basically just this year, I did a little research on it and found out that it could be caused from chronic stress and that the floaters can work there way out of the eye over time. They haven't gotten any worse thankfully, if anything they are getting better. As mentioned above I only notice them sometimes usually in bright sunlight or light backgrounds. I leave for OCS tomorrow morning so I really hope I don't find out something bad when I get my flight physical.:confused:
 
Laser retinopexy is waiverable. I could see just fine about an hour after mine. Think of it as thumbtacking your retina into place around the hole so it doesn't tear or detach, except that it's done with frickin' LASER BEAMS.
I was a winged aviator, don't know how generous they are with waivers pre-NAMI. Hurt like a mofo, though.
 
Carlos Caliente said:
Laser retinopexy is waiverable. I could see just fine about an hour after mine. Think of it as thumbtacking your retina into place around the hole so it doesn't tear or detach, except that it's done with frickin' LASER BEAMS.
I was a winged aviator, don't know how generous they are with waivers pre-NAMI. Hurt like a mofo, though.
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Do they go PEW PEW? If not, they aren't lazers.
 
I have to get a waiver for a small retinal hole and am worried about it. What was the outcome of your story??? I see you have wings, hopefully it was waived no problem?
 
Was just curious as to the difficulty of that particular waiver. As an aircrewman, all I had to do was the test of my periphery vision (my head in a big bubble with flashing lights). I do feel better knowing I have found at least one person with the waiver.
 
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