The Doctor is in! Ask a Flight Surgeon!

[Atreyu098]

I appreciate it so much, it's been a rough month thinking maybe my career is falling through my fingers, especially when my 86 class up date is coming up. I am going to a civilian doctor Thursday, they say that they don't do the puff test but a more accurate test (maybe it's the one you mentioned).

Thank you for your help and input, I may PM you as well! Thanks

 

[DynamicHFM]

Howdy folks,
I have a question regarding the OCS medical process. I am in good physical condition, blood work looked great at last check-up, my blood pressure is a little high, but I am working on it (less sodium...less fun). The thing I am currently extremely worried about is dental. I've never had dental coverage in my life, sans a short period in high school. During that time, I had a cavity filled (I knew I wanted to be a pilot, so I had them fill it with non-conductive material, so epoxy stuff, if that matters), but other than that I was told my teeth were in good condition. Because of this lack of dental coverage, I have always been very careful about my teeth; however, by viewing the top of my molars, there is a slight discoloration along the center rift, which I imagine probably is some decay that I need to have taken care of. I also have all 4 wisdom teeth in, but they've caused me no discomfort, so I have never had a reason to pay the outrageous fee to go to the dentist, though, one of them is coming in slightly canted at about 30 degrees off center. Like I said, there has been no discomfort or crowding of my teeth, they are still straight and lined up.

My question is this: What is the recommendation for dealing with dental problems? Can I get away with not doing anything until after I commission when I have the coverage, or will this hurt my aviation package? I've seen a few posts about people having dental stuff taken care of in OCS, would this be a viable option? If this needs to be taken care of, I will find a way to shell out the cash...if I can wait, that would be preferred, considering I am on an incredibly restricted salary as a graduate student...

Thank you in advance
John

 

[Recovering LSO]

Can we get this young woman in the medical corps and assigned as a flight surgeon...? Salty language, NSFW. Stick with it, she really hits her stride around the four-minute mark....

 

[Brett327]

I think I'm in like.

 

[ForTheBoys]

Hey I'd appreciate some help understanding my condition. During my aviation screening at the Academy (I'm a firstie), the chest X-ray indicated the following:

Lungs: The lungs are adequately inflated. A 1 cm rounded opacity is noted within the periphery of the right upper lung, which may represent confluent overlying opacities versus pulmonary nodule. There is no evidence of pneumonia or pulmonary edema.

Pleura: There are no pneumothoraces or pleural effusions.

Heart and mediastinum: The heart has a bulbous appearance but is of normal size. There are normal cardiomediastinal contours.

Bones and soft tissues: There are no acute osseous or soft tissue abnormalities.

IMPRESSION: Rounded opacity within the periphery of the right upper lung and bulbous-appearing heart of normal size. Recommend low dose noncontrast chest CT for further evaluation of these abnormalities.


I was sent to Bethesda to get that CT scan, but the results won't be in until later this week, and the suspense is killing me. Any insight would help. Thanks.!

 

[TimeBomb]

FTB,
Are you worried about the possible pulmonary nodule? You really shouldn't sweat it at this point. It may not even be real. The description of the heart is also of uncertain significance. The CT will provide a lot more information, and you can move forward from there, if necessary.
R/

 

[ForTheBoys]

FTB,
Are you worried about the possible pulmonary nodule? You really shouldn't sweat it at this point. It may not even be real. The description of the heart is also of uncertain significance. The CT will provide a lot more information, and you can move forward from there, if necessary.
R/

TimeBomb,

To be honest, I'm not really sure what I'm scared of specifically. I'm just scared something will prevent me from being able to get my desired service selection. Thanks for your reply, sir/ma'am. I hope it's nothing significant. Fingers crossed.

 

[westcoastflyer]

I tore my ACL on the same day I was selected for OCS (Air Contract, USMC) in Mar. 2015, ACL surgery on April 21, 2015 (Hamstring Graft). So far my recovery has been awesome, PT/AT 2x week for 4 months post op. I'm nowhere near as strong as I was before I tore it, but I am running and working out regularly with little to no pain. Once fully cleared by surgeon, what is the timeline for going through medical again and getting a waiver? Are there any specific documents I need to make sure I have? My OSO just told me to, "Get everything." Also, I will now be OCC and need to take my flight physical, do I have to go through anything extra because of the surgery? Just want to have all my ducks in a row to knock it out as efficiently as possible. As well as know what hoops I am going to have to jump through.

Thanks,
WH

 

[andre lane]

Got a call today by my recruiter saying that i been NPQ'd haven't received the N3M letter yet but I can assume that it could be my astigmatism my pre-op was -3.25 in my left eye and -2.50 in my right eye and I research that the limits for nfo astigmatism is -/+ 3.00. I did Lasik surgery by the Army January this year my post-op is less than -0.75 right eye and -0.25 left eye now my question can I have my recruiter submit a wavier to BUPER or NAMI to get PQ'd? And what's the waviable limit with astigmatism for Lasik?

 

[SWOMan]

Hello Doc!,
There is probably a post about it within these 39 pages of medical Questions, but I wanted to ask based on my situation. I'm currently in the process of applying for OCS, as my name states I hope to be a SWO. I have 3 medical things I had to mark yes to. The first 2 I believe will be be easy waivers. I broke my collar bone when I was younger and have no issues. I also had surgery on my right elbow to remove a bone chip and no hardware was used. The 3rd is a little more concerning. When I was 16, my parents went through a very bad divorce. During this time I became depressed with my family situation and started acting out and saying stupid things for attention. I was put on anti depressants ( welbutrin) for 6 months by my physician. At the end of 6 months I came off, I went on to prosper in school with a 4.1 gpa and a double major in college. This was over 8 years ago now, and is something I'm having to jump through hoops for. I'm currently waiting on a letter from my physican. Do you think with the length of time since coming off that I will have any issues getting a waiver/ will I even still need to get a waiver? The BUMED report states the length of time as non disqualifying now. Based on the stats of page 74, care wasn't required over 24 months, have been without treatment for 36 months, and didn't require any inpatient treatment. http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmotc/nami/arwg/Documents/Wavier Guide Feb 2015/DODI_6130.03_JUL12.pdf

 

[irish28]

AirWarriors,
I'm going through Primary and had a case of barotrauma in the plane 2 months ago. A CT scan has confirmed that I will need surgery to basically open up my sinus passageways so my sinuses can clear easier to avoid making my sinuses go *pop* anytime I have a descent rate over 200 fpm. I am getting surgery from a civilian ENT, and my doc at the squadron is 'pretty sure' I should be fine on a waiver and said to go ahead and get the surgery. He has been super helpful throughout this ordeal, but I was curious if anyone else has had sinus surgery and could shed some light on their experiences. A search on the site has a lot of talk on deviated septum and allergies, but nothing too much on sinus surgery; the NAMI waiver guide just stresses it would be nice to get me in a chamber before the waiver is approved. I will call NAMI tomorrow to see what they say, but figured it couldn't hurt to make sure I had everything in order before I get my sinuses bored out. Any info on the process would be most appreciated. Thanks so much!

Irish

 

[westcoastflyer]

Is the doctor truly in?

 

[Flash]

Is the doctor truly in?

Give him a little time.

 

[TimeBomb]

Irish,
WRT the surgery, I have had it and it was no big deal. Not much pain at all from the actual surgery. YMMV. The plastic splints up my nose for a week to splint the septum were annoying but not painful. Getting them pulled out was interesting. I wasn't on flight status then, but I got a couple weeks off from work. That was great.
WRT the waiver process, follow the guide and you won't go far wrong. Figure on getting in the low pressure chamber about 4-6 weeks after surgery. By then, the goo inside your sinuses left over from surgery should have cleared out, and the flight surgeon with the concurrence of the ENT can get you back in the airplane. A Local Board of Flight Surgeons is just that...a way to temporarily approve an uncomplicated waiver pending final NAMI review.
R/

 

[westcoastflyer]

Give him a little time.

Sorry, patience is a virtue.