Airline Pilot Central Forums - Sleep Apnea-new FAA Guidelines

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- - Sleep Apnea-new FAA Guidelines - be prepared! (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/pilot-health/87019-sleep-apnea-new-faa-guidelines-prepared.html)

I fell asleep 3 times reading this thread!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by E2CMaster (Post 1844551)

I'm 6'4"/265#

I'm morbidly obese according to the FAA.

Yet I have normal blood pressure and ran a 19 minute 5k two days ago.

That is an awesome time for a 5K.

I didn't say I've been able to walk since.

That's about max speed for my morbidly obese behind.

Quote:

Originally Posted by E2CMaster (Post 1844604)

I didn't say I've been able to walk since.

That's about max speed for my morbidly obese behind.

Just imagine if you were in the normal range, your slinky body with no muscle on it could have caught a tail wind and flown across the finish line....oh how I hate this BMI crap.
I played racquetball for 5.5 hours today yet somehow I'm still obese according to the chart....pure crap.

I have pictures of me 20+ yrs. ago when I was a 180 lb. surviving on Flight Instructor pay. I was sickly skinny, yet that is the high range of my BMI according to the chart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by E2CMaster (Post 1844551)

I'm 6'4"/265#

I'm morbidly obese according to the FAA.

Perhaps they thought you were reporting the combined height and weight of two morbidly obese dwarves. :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinkstraight (Post 1844584)

I fell asleep 3 times reading this thread!!

No worries. As long as your BMI is low you're good. :D

until they come for us all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinkstraight (Post 1844584)

I fell asleep 3 times reading this thread!!

Now that there was funny!!

...and BTW, for all those wanting ALPA to demand sleep friendly trips, be careful what you wish for. A lot of us commuters search the bid package for trips that are commutable on both sides. That generally means a late sign in and and early-ish sign out. In order to do that, somewhere you have to switch from night flying to day flying.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdGrimley (Post 1843979)

Precisely! Domestic flying fatigue could be cut in half within the first month of implementing AM only or PM only or Redeye only trips, no mixing. Virtually every sleep study shows you need x number of hours sleep at the same relative time of day to keep your body alert and functioning well. Most of the mishmash trips offered now go 180 degrees against that. Then people scratch their heads wondering why pilots are getting sick, fat and fatigued. Btw, screwing with your circadian rhythm also causes your body to release increased cortisol leading to more fat storage among other things.

Does anybody know if ALPA is/has or is going to push for more consistent circadian agreeable schedules? I know that companies will say they can't afford it and will go out of business when in fact they would just need to hire 10% more pilots and would still be minting money. This is a serious issue that affects every pilot, during their career and also after they retire when much of the damage cannot be undone.

ALPA will get right that.....safety first!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raptor (Post 1843901)

Don't anyone fall for the OP's app or the information provided on his website link. They are trolling for pilot dollars based on fear and misinformation while providing just enough truth to worry some.

The website and his posts imply to find out your OSA status before you visit your AME and you'll fall into spec sheet A territory and thus, not have any time off. Wrong. The moment you are notified of having OSA via a sleep assessment, you're grounded, until you follow the FAA procedures. Thus, you can't visit them first to determine OSA status, get it "fixed", and then on your medical tell the FAA you're good to go! If anyone did this, they'd be in SERIOUS hot water as they would have flown after being notified of an FAA disabling condition before receiving FAA approval to return to flying.

Do yourself a favor and read the information in the link I posted in post 2. It is THE same guide the AME has received from the FAA.

This is his website's information:
Decision B- Decide to be evaluated and possibly treated for OSA prior to the AME exam. Spec Sheet A will be issued and in this case as long as the sleep study has been performed prior to presenting to the AME , a medical certificate will be issues with the condition that all appropriate information pertaining to the diagnosis and treatment be provided within 90 days of the AME evaluation. Thus the course of action is predetermined, no risk exists of having lapses in medical certificate validity.

Either way The Fly-in Fly-out program, takes the uncertainty out of the entire process. From start to completion of the SI, you will be handled by experts in the process of SI for pilots with sleep apnea. In most cases no time off work will be required . The process of diagnosis, treatment and documentation of effective compliance is consolidated in a very short time span, making the risk and uncertainty of successful special issuance very low.

The "doc's" Decision B is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG...don't fall into the trap this self-serving poster has provided. Your medical WILL be impacted if you have a sleep study that documents OSA and you don't ground yourself right away. And, would you really trust them providing information for SI (Special Issuance) when their information is rife with errors already?

The information that I posted is actually factual and based on information available to anyone at: Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners
Though mostly black and white, there are some ambiguities which I have taken the time to research and clarify with the FAA. The fact remains that this is not going to go away, many unsuspecting pilots will get caught in the cross-hairs, the qualifications for "high risk of OSA" may not be as difficult to meet as you once thought (http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/...stionnaire.pdf), and many pilots will be at risk for a temporary lapse in the ability to fly. There are basically 2 options: 1) Roll the dice and hope for the best at your AME exam (to land in Group 3 or 4) and go through the motions as they have laid out if not, 2) proactively and truthfully screen yourself (using the same tools provided to the AME), make a plan for seeking diagnosis and treatment if indicated by the risk assessment, and find a way to do it in the least disruptive way possible to minimize down time. That being said, I will under no circumstance advise a pilot to continue flying once a true diagnosis (via sleep study) is found and prior to effective treatment. I will, however, inform pilots that there are many ways to get from point A (risk evaluation) to point B (treatment) and by doing a little research, finding a physician with knowledge and experience in this unique circumstance, and taking control of the potential problem before it becomes an actual problem; the process can be far less frustrating, smoother, more efficient, and with little to no disruption in the ability to fly.