Seizures Update

Flyr3465

Flyr3465

New Member
HELP!

Ok heres whats happened. Ive told you all about my seizure 5 years ago. Ok Actually what happened is that I had one seizure then 20 minutes later i had another. I thought they would treat that as a one time occurance but i was wrong. Now they are saying 10 years untill I can get my medical. I talked to a Senior Medical Employee at AOPA and they told me if i get an EEG and send it to one of his buddies in Oklahoma, that he will look at it and see the difference and if the EEG reads negative he will write a note stating im ok. Now I have a Q for you guys. What are my chances of them reconsidering my case??? Think they could drop it back down to 5 for me???? I hoping with a convincing letter from my Doctor and from this Nerologist on Oklahoma I could have a good shot. All thoughts are appreciated!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks
Chris
 
A couple of thoughts...

1) Keep working with AOPA. If it's possible to get a medical, then they'll get you a medical.

2) The FAA hates the unknown. Is the cause of the seizures known? If not the FAA is going to continue to scratch their heads about it. So try to find a cause that can be related to them. I mean it's a lot different having a seizure because you got beaned with a baseball (for example) than because of epilespy.

3) Finally the FAA seems to review medical app like a teenager mows the lawn. They get it done eventually on their own, but work a lot faster if someone keeps keeps on their ass about getting it done. I've heard of people who have called the FAA everyday to find out the status of their app. Seems to work.

One personal note about dealing with the FAA, anything that you need to ship to them should go UPS or FedEx, but don't send it overnight or anything like that. You need the ability to track it and verify that someone signed for it.

I sent my materials on 4/18 and received a POD on 4/23, but the FAA claimed that I didn't send it. I got AOPA involved and between their investigating and the FAA's they "found" my records in late June.

Honestly, I'm sure the doctors for the FAA are great, but the people working the office need a few lessons in customer service and efficiency.

Good luck to you and keep us posted. I'm sure everyone is pulling for you.

Cheers.

Naunga
 
Well technically i was never Diagnosed with anything. Night time seizures is what they called it but it was really random. I was never declared epileptic either. Now i was in telluride that weekend and i might of hit my head snowboarding or something??? Think theyll buy that?

Thanks,
Chris
 
They might buy it, but I was more referring to the reason the doctor attached to the seizures.

But hey it's worth a try. Maybe talk to you doctor about it.

And to be correct, the FAA asks if you've ever been diagnosed or HAD anytime in your life.

Naunga
 
Flyr,

I agree that you should continue to persue this with the help of AOPA. They not only have excellent resources, but also have the ability to accelerate the process.

One nugget of wisdom about FAA medical exams... Adopt the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy with them.. If they don't specifically ask you about something, don't feel inclined to answer it. Never would I suggest lying, but treat it like you're being interrogated by the police. It's how you fill the silence that usually buries you. The following should be your response to any question that begins with "do you" or "have you"...

a: Yes, sir
b: No, sir.
c: I don't know, sir.

Just like the Army, son. <grin>

Paul
 
[ QUOTE ]
Well technically i was never Diagnosed with anything.

[/ QUOTE ]

The doctor might not have told you any particular diagnosis, but if you were treated by a doctor, especially a neurologist, there is one in your file. Ask the doctor who treated you what it is. Beware that they may not tell you over the phone because of the new privacy rules.

The only way someone with a history of seizures "without satisfactory medical explanation of the cause" can receive a medical is by special issuance authorization. This has a time limit set by the FAA which may not be the same as your certificate. When the time is up they will require you to see a doctor again, and probably have an EEG. You will never be able to get cleared once and for ever, unless they have a satisfactory medical explanation of the cause of your seizures (unless they change the rules, which is unlikely.)

From what I know about the FAA's rules about seizures, I think the only way you can get a certificate now is if you can get them to treat your two seizures as one history, since they were so close together. Maybe the doctor in Oklahoma can do that, or maybe there is something in your records from the treating physician that can help.

Did you actually have a recent EEG and neurological exam and send your whole history in? Or did they just hear that you had two seizures and say "it hasn't been ten years - don't bother"?

By the way, is the doctor in Oklahoma Dr. Hastings? He sounds really good.

My son Dan has a history of seizures, too. He got a third class by special issuance since it has been over ten years since his last seizure and his recent EEG showed no seizure activity. His special issuance expires in a year and he needs to get another EEG and neurological evaluation just before that. This was disappointing and surprising for us because we had always thought of him as cured. But the FAA looks at statistics, and anyone who has had a seizure even once is at a much higher risk of having another one than someone in the general population. When we were researching this, we learned the military is also concerned about triggers such as the stress of an emergency, low oxygen, or high G's setting off a seizure in someone with a history, so maybe that is a part of the FAA's thinking too.

DansMom
 
The following quote is from this link: Navy Rules for Neurological Wavers

[ QUOTE ]
DISCUSSION: The risk of having a first seizure falls from about 0.4% at age 20 to 0.06% at age 50 before rising sharply to 0.8% by age 70. The late rise is because of the increase in precipitating factors such as neuronal degeneration and cerebrovascular disease. After a single, unprovoked seizure in adults, the risk of a second episode while not taking anticonvulsants is 64% over 3 years and 80% at 5 years, with over two thirds of these occurring during the first year. With no risk factors such as previous neurological insult or a sibling with epilepsy, the risk of a second seizure is 23% at five years. Relapse even after many years of symptom-free existence without therapy is possible. These figures apply to individuals living at one atmosphere and one +Gz. The risk for seizure recurrence associated with exposure to the physiological stressors of military aviation is likely to be much higher. Etiologies for seizures in the adult: alcohol (25%), brain tumor (16%), cerebral infarction (14%), trauma (4%), miscellaneous (5%) and unknown (38%). The EEG does not prove or disprove the diagnosis, although an unequivocally abnormal EEG with a good history of seizure does support the diagnosis. EEGs are normal in half the patients with frank epilepsy. An epileptiform EEG does not, by itself, signify the presence of epilepsy.


[/ QUOTE ]
Realize that this means that for adults with one seizure without any other risk factors, the risk of a second seizure after five years being seizure-free is 23%. Much too high for the FAA to risk giving them a medical certificate. Of course, if you are in the 77% who do not have another seizure, it will seem dreadfully unfair.

DansMom
 
Ok heres whats happening. I go on tuesday for a referal for an EEG. Then i send my EEG do the nerologist in OK. I never went to a nerologist when i had my seizures actually. So ive never been diagnosed. Im hoping they can put sumthing down like that i hit my head sledding and that night i had a seizure. That could be my cause i suppose. "dansmom" do you have aol? So i can ask a bunch of Q's that way????

Thanks,
Chris
 
I just signed up for AOL Instant Messenger. I've never used it before, though. My screen name is pilotdansmom - somebody else had dansmom!

DansMom
 
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