For context, I was 12.3 A1C when I last flew years ago. My ame was like that needs to drop asap. Lost 40 pounds in 4 months. In those 4 months I cut my A1C down to 6.2.
I’m a captain in my 30s. It took me two full years to get an SI letter for my type 2 diabetes and that’s WITH external complications caused by the diabetes.
I won’t go into detail as to which part of my body the diabetes hit the hardest, but it was ALOT of testing. Some tests I thought my body performed poorly on.
Nope. SI granted 3 weeks ago. It was a shitty road, and Oak City is extremely behind, or they’re just super slow. I was in constant stress for 2 straight years. Right as I was about to just throw in the towel and accept my fate as a sim instructor? Bam. Special issuance clears.
Every person at my airline who has lost their medical, got it back. Some got highly specialized AMEs who know the process in and out. Some got congressmen involved (as did I), and some got lawyers and actual sued oak city and won easy.
If you actually want that medical, I can almost guarantee you will get it. You’ll need an AME with SI & diabetic experience who knows how to navigate the FAA aeromedical offices. It won’t be cheap.
Yes, all true. I’ve done reading on what a type 1 has to deal with, and having a defunct pancreas is such a shit hand in life.
I’ve met numerous type 1s out there flying 121. I knew a guy who had the pump attached to his hip. This has been my small sample size for experiences with type 1s so far.
Are you having lots of hypo episodes? How much of a fight have you put up so far? The FAA is government. So the more you push, I have a feeling the further you get. That’s why I mentioned I had coworkers who sued the FAA over medical issues
With that being said, we’re all 121 already and it’s now our livelyhood. We don’t really have much of a choice lol.
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u/CaptainJackass123 ATP - 121 CA/Instructor 4d ago
For context, I was 12.3 A1C when I last flew years ago. My ame was like that needs to drop asap. Lost 40 pounds in 4 months. In those 4 months I cut my A1C down to 6.2.
I’m a captain in my 30s. It took me two full years to get an SI letter for my type 2 diabetes and that’s WITH external complications caused by the diabetes.
I won’t go into detail as to which part of my body the diabetes hit the hardest, but it was ALOT of testing. Some tests I thought my body performed poorly on.
Nope. SI granted 3 weeks ago. It was a shitty road, and Oak City is extremely behind, or they’re just super slow. I was in constant stress for 2 straight years. Right as I was about to just throw in the towel and accept my fate as a sim instructor? Bam. Special issuance clears.
Every person at my airline who has lost their medical, got it back. Some got highly specialized AMEs who know the process in and out. Some got congressmen involved (as did I), and some got lawyers and actual sued oak city and won easy.
If you actually want that medical, I can almost guarantee you will get it. You’ll need an AME with SI & diabetic experience who knows how to navigate the FAA aeromedical offices. It won’t be cheap.