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Old 05-26-2018, 06:55 PM
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Excargodog
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Joined APC: Jan 2018
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Originally Posted by Willy100 View Post
So, this has got me stressing about my medical app this year. Since I started flying 10 years ago I've been to the exact same AME every year. Except last year. First some background. When I was in college about 7 years ago I had some heart palps that were diagnosed as benign PVC's brought on by caffeine consumption and stress. I cut down on the caffeine and they improved and haven't been a bother since. Nonetheless I ticked the yes box on "heart and vascular trouble" I was under the impression that once you tick "yes" you have to tick it forever. A few calls to AOPA have confirmed this suspiscion.

1. Can an AME actually "give you a clean slate" from a yes box on the previous conditions section?

The answer is yes, sort of. It is not uncommon for people to over interpret the questions. "Benign" PVCs are - by definition - not "trouble." That's sort of what benign means. He may very well have annotated "Benign PVCs only, asymptomatic, resolved, no actual cardiovascular problem" on his portion of the exam, essentially - yes - giving you a clean slate.

2. Could he have without my knowledge changed my application, or can he only add comments to it?
He can do neither. He can only put explanatory statements referencing your yes boxes on his part of the exam. He has a read-only access to your input.

But you have an EASY fix. Call up the Regional Flight Surgeon for whatever region the exam was done in and explain to him/her your concern. He/She will then tell you how to annotate future medical history forms. And permanently annotate your record that you have been so instructed. These guys don't play gotcha for the sheer joy of playing gotcha.
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