I recently got diagnosed with mild sleep apnea due to overweight and the doctor recommended that I use CPAP to help with thr condition while I work towards losing my overweight. So I decided to use it and it’s been a few months now.
The doctor told me if I lose weight and perform another sleep study that indicates recovery from sleep apnea, I can get off the machine no problem.
My questions are, will I still be able to get a 1st class medical? How do the Airlines look at this when they hire pilots? If I follow doctors directions and lose weight, do another sleep study that shows sleep apnea is gone and no need for cpap anymore, will that clear me?
Trying to figure out how having this condition will harm my career as an airline pilot.
Marcus,
Like Adam said, all medical questions should be directed to an AME, however, I will give you my experience. I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine. I knew this could cause delays for my first class so I contacted my AME and found out what they, and the FAA, would need prior to my exam. I’ll attach the information provided to AMEs on how to deal with Sleep Apnea at the end of this post. In preparation for my first class medical exam, I got a copy of my most recent sleep study and my usage history from the App that my CPAP machine uses. With regard to usage, the FAA wants to see that you actually use the prescribed machine at least 75% of the time and an average use (hours wise) of at least 6 hours per night. Knowing this, I use the machine every night, and always try to get at least 6 hours of sleep.
When I went for my exam, I printed the usage chart out, brought a printed copy of my sleep study and provided it all to my AME. They had me fill out an Airman’s Compliance Statement, basically you saying you’re using the machine as prescribed and will continue to use it until a Doctor says you no longer need to use it. And the last thing was a form that had to be filled out by my sleep doctor - basically it was asking for information taken from the sleep study and follow-up appointments to see how sleep therapy was progressing, was I using it as prescribed, what did the patient report as far as the treatment helping or not, etc. I was issued my First Class on the spot and sent the form to my doctor who filled it out and returned to me a week or two later. Once I got it, I sent it to the AME to be attached to my file and sent to the FAA.
It is possible to be issued a First Class certificate with Sleep Apnea, it is just a special issuance. I’d talk to an AME near you to get all the details and try and get your medical sorted. Any sort of delays from referral should be addressed so you can get them taken care of. If you’re going to have more hoops to jump through, might as well start jumping sooner rather than later.
Hope that helps!
Here is the link to the Sleep Apnea info provided to AMEs that should provide you with more insight.
Getting your medical will be the first hurdle. But your weight will be something you’ll need to be conscious of when applying to flight schools. If you’re going to pursue ATP, the maximum weight for admission is 250 pounds due to weight and balance issues. Just something I wanted you to be aware of.