Dakota Kid

Regarding workout supplements I am not looking to become a huge muscle man, just looking to improve endurance when exercising. A supplement that I am interested in is certified free of any WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) banned substance. If an item is banned there, banned from FAA as well? Their list of banned substances is very lengthy and I would assume that it includes items that would be banned from the FAA, but you all know what happens if you assume!

awax

There is no FAA list of approved medications, only the prohibition under the FARs for having a condition or taking a medication that would interfere with flight duties.

You could either spin the wheel and report it on block #17 of your next medical, or ask your AME his opinion before you start using.

CaptYoda

This might be a good starting point.

Dietary Supplements in Aircrew - Go Flight Medicine

thomaskies

No way, WADA banned list has many ingredients that are found in common flu/cold remedies you can buy from the supermarket. Hell, caffeine used to be WADA prohibited (now monitored).

rickair7777

The FAA does have a list of approved meds, they just don't make it public because they want you to ask your AME, vice making your own determination. There are various places online where you can find the list, keeping in mind that in some cases the real point of concern is not the meds, but rather the medical condition.

As far as supplements, the FAA bans meds which are addictive/mind altering, likely to degrade your physical or mental performance, or cause incapacitation.

They don't really care about long-term health ramifications, or whether a sporting body banned something to ensure fair play. Apples to oranges comparison.

Muscle milk works fine for improving/extending stamina for amateur training. I don't think it contains anything the FAA cares about (hope not).

Also keep in mind that the DOT drug tests do NOT test for all meds banned by the FAA...DOT focuses on opiates and commonly abused recreational drugs.

Dakota Kid

Maybe I misspoke. Maybe I should have said that I wonder if I would be safe to assume that banned items from FAA would also be on banned items from WADA. In that, I think that majority, if not all, items banned from FAA would also be banned from WADA.

rickair7777

Not safe to assume. There might be things like cold medications which WADA doesn't care about but could make you drowsy.

Also the only things really "banned" by the FAA/DOT are street drugs with no medicinal use. Any legal OTC or prescription drug can be used by pilots, but for many (no-fly drugs) you have to wait a period of time after finishing the drug before you fly. The wait period is *usually* twice the dosing interval.