Migraine Waiver for a Pilot?

[lwhite]

I have a waiver for migraines. 3 years is the line in the sand. If they were within that time frame (or took medication in that period) a waiver would be denied. I went to MEPS with all my documentation and the Doc said I was good to go. I showed up to OCS and the flight docs at NAMI were surprised that no one at MEPS told me I would need a waiver. I had CAT scans and an MRI and the associated documentation.

Good luck with your application, your physical and the waiver process. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

Glad to hear it possible and congrats on making it through. Did you have them as a teen then? And wow I can't believe that no one told you about it. That would have been a horrible surprise. Crazy enough I knew about needing it for NAMI before I knew about needing it for MEPS. Do you mind me asking for the details of your migraines?

And thanks a bunch for the advise and everything.

 

[RockyMtnNFO]

I have a waiver for migraines. 3 years is the line in the sand. If they were within that time frame (or took medication in that period) a waiver would be denied. I went to MEPS with all my documentation and the Doc said I was good to go. I showed up to OCS and the flight docs at NAMI were surprised that no one at MEPS told me I would need a waiver. I had CAT scans and an MRI and the associated documentation.

The Flight Doc sent me to the head of neurology at NAMI for a consult. Three doctors then fired off questions for a long time and then gave me a bunch of tests about my coordination (imagine a sobriety test on crack). The type of questions they asked me went like this:

1. Story of your migraines.
2. Type of migraines (location and duration).
3. How the migraines effected your vision (lose of vision, tunnel vision, spots, etc.) or created a sensitivity to light.
4. Duration of a migraine.
5. Level of pain associated with a migraine.
6. The level to which migraines prevented you from doing activities like work or school and how you reacted (miss school/ work, lay down in a dark room).
7. How you got off medication.
8. Any possible triggers.

My strategy when it came to the interview was to prove to the Doc that I was worth the Navy taking a risk. At the time of my interview it had been 6 years since my last migraine or when I last took medication. I then listed all of the physical and stressful activities I had done without any migraines or the need of medication. My migraines were probably linked to going through puberty and the flight doc agreed. I was also 3 weeks into OCS at the time and did not have any migraine issues.

When I was NPQ'ed and had to wait a long time for the waiver I was on the verge of going nuts. If you ever get to that point do you best to try and push the waiver out of your mind. When it comes to applying for the waiver, check up on it weekly (by writing down everyone's name and office phone number) because you are the only person who will actively check on the status.

Good luck with your application, your physical and the waiver process. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

The above is good gouge.

I was an NFO and did the NOMI consult as well. It was a little different for me since I was not a pilot, but as you can see it is possible. I especially like the part about getting numbers and following up yoursrlf. Yeah, the recruiters will help, but this is going to be like pulling teeth and the recruiter has numbers they need that have nothing to do with getting pilots.

Best of luck. I recommend taking up fly fishing and shooting at your earliest convenience.

R/

Steve

 

[feddoc]

The med was Topimax and I think it was for around 6 months months that I took it. I went to the doc a few times complaining about the side effects but he kept saying they would go away and was actually upping the medication. Though I didn't take the upped dosage. And I do know that my mom bought the prescription for a while after that. I told my OSO about the results yes. When I went to see the doc the first time they did the MRI said there was something wrong so that they had to be migraines. Got a second opinion on them from a neurosurgeon and he said it everything looked fine. Told that to my OSO who told that to the doc who said "Many who have migraines do not show anything on an MRI, but it is great that nothing signinficant was found."

Topamax.......sent my wife to the hospital. Errrrrrr..

The doc is right, migraines can have some strange symptoms...causes may not show up on an MRI/CAT scan.

Tom gave some good gouge on what NOMI is very likely going to do.


".....annoying me but I was functioning no problem. They weren't incapacitating like migraines are supposed to be and didn't have any of the symptoms that normally go with them,..."

It is possible that you did not have migraines. Do you have a new doc? If so, perhaps they might be able to take a look at your past symptoms, compare with your current symptoms (none??) and make a statement which indicates that you don't have and never did have migraines.

 

[Tom]

Glad to hear it possible and congrats on making it through. Did you have them as a teen then? And wow I can't believe that no one told you about it. That would have been a horrible surprise. Crazy enough I knew about needing it for NAMI before I knew about needing it for MEPS. Do you mind me asking for the details of your migraines?

And thanks a bunch for the advise and everything.

PM sent.