The Walrus

Mayday and slaveship,

I would highly advise both of you to call AMAS

https://www.aviationmedicine.com/ser...ices-programs/

they are the specialists paid by Alpa for us to use as a liason/consultant/specialist to get you back on flying status. Harvey Watt is a company paid by the company to do the same thing, but I would rather work through AMAS vs HW. Once cleared, you must send the FAA correspondence to HW in order to have them tell the company that you are cleared to call in well, but you do not have to share any of your medical records with them. AMAS works for you and is totally confidential, vs sharing medical info with HW who is paid by FDX.

Raptor

But, with AMAS, you must still understand that while they help you navigate the FAA system, they are not on "your" side like your personal physician might be. AMAS are "straight shooters" and are obligated to follow standards so they remain credible advocates with the FAA. They will advocate for you, help navigate the system, and prepare packets that will satisfy the FAA.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you only share your medical file with your personal physician and only send what's absolutely needed--and no more--to AMAS or anyone else.

MaydayMark

Walrus,

I suspect that AMAS provides a valuable (for fee) service. In my case, all of my doctors, diagnostic tests and evaluations have been paid by "magic" (Harvey Watt? FedEx? I'm not sure as it's invisible to me). If Harvey Watt wants me to see a specialist in another city I call the PAC and they arrange for airline tickets, hotels and rental cars. So far it's all been easy, simple and free.

Experience has shown that a phone call to the ALPA Aeromedical Office (in Denver?) for additional information helps and they sometimes have better advise than the Harvey Watt folks.

Having Harvey Watt share my medical information with the Company has made LTD paperwork easier. When Harvey Watt said, "not qualified to hold a Class I medical" Management said "OK, fine."

A difficult lesson learned for the APC followers ... The FDX LTD paperwork is handled by Aetna and FDX send them your pay history to determine your monthly LTD benefit. It turn out that our (optional) MEC LTD policy is also insured by Aetna. The 2 Aetna claims administrators aren't allowed to talk to each other or share information with each other so I had to personally send the MEC LTD folks much of the same paperwork that Aetna already had!*? (This "may" have been fixed in the new contract).

MM

The Walrus

AMAS is under contract with Alpa and is paid for with our dues money.

Raptor

The new contract does fix that. At YOUR option, you can permit Aetna to talk to "itself" for both plans now.

Haven't looked if there's an implementation timeline though that would delay the start?

slaveship

Thank you all for your info and experiences. For others who might be out and want to come back, here is my experience. Heart bypass 16 months ago, plus diabetes. I was put on insulin at time of surgery. FAA requires a 6 month wait after heart surgery. Follow on testing requires nuclear stress test and a heart cath. For diabetes, FAA requires 90 days off of insulin and demonstrate good control of glucose. Easy right? What is so critical is the doctors who are treating you. I hunted for the best and never relented until I found the best. New endocronologist told me I should have never been put on insulin. Pancreas is fine. Thankfully I have no heart damage. It was all arterial. Makes a huge difference with the FAA. Anthem BC/BS will pay for all testing because it is medically necessary. Once you have arterial disease, you always have arterial disease. The right doctor and the right language is key for insurance. Diabetes is at such an epidemic level and with so many medicines on the market, the FAA is still dozens of years behind. No surprise. I went thru a period of time that I had just given in to never flying again, almost a depressive state, but please never relent to that. It takes alot of leg work to find the right doctors. Dont accept those that could care less about what you want. Believe me they are out there. Also, FAA AME's all have different opinions. Hunt for the right one. One more thing. I have dealt with ALPA aeromedical, private consultants that have been on the FAA cardio board, and Harvey Watt. Forget about all of them. Read the FAA requirements to get back to work and work directly with your doctors. Build you own package to submit. Harvey Watt will do this for you and QC it thru the entire process. And they do it for free. Actually they are paid by the company. Everyone else, not ALPA, wants thousands of dollars to help you. ALPA is our advocate but they are large and bureaucratic. The docs give great info but just didn't have the warm fuzzy. Many of you may have different experiences and it is what it is.

God willing, I will get back to work in April. One last bit of advice. If you don't personally adjust your lifestyle regarding diet and exercise, with the sedentary nature of our job and the really healthy catering, chances are nothing will change. The FAA's guidelines for diabetic control are a death sentence. You can fly with hemoglobin A1c levels that are dangerous. Don't accept just being below the limit. Our grandchildren, children, wives and family are more important.

Sorry for the soap box but wanted to thank those who took the time to respond. If you want more details, please PM me and I will be happy to call you to discuss.

And another soap box thing. Our company and union disability benefits are amazing. If you don't have ALPA's LTD plan, get it. It's tax free and saved my family from financial ruin. Nuff said.

Fly safe. Hope you be doing the same again soon. Cheers.