Diabetic info for pilots.
I’m making this post just so that’s it here and archived for some future reference for some fellow pilot that just came home with some bad news and can’t find much info out there.

If you would like to add to this, please do. If your that guy that loves to hijack posts/threads just to get your name on the forum, ( and you know who you are ) then just don’t. Thanks.

Newest Blood Glucose A1C % levels are 9.0%, or less, according to the FAA to be able to fly. Over 9.0%A1C? Your sugars are way too high buddy. You can expect to be grounded for 90 days while you work on changing your diet, start to exercise, and adjust to the new meds, and let your body replace/make all new red blood cells ( which takes 90 days ). Then expect to go back for another blood draw, and obtain a new A1C % level.

Relax friend. You can do this.

Your primary doctor fills out a form titled “DIABTES OR HYPERGLYCEMIA ON ORAL MEDICATIONS STATUS REPORT ( Updated 5/27/2015 )”. The AME mails it in, not the primary doc. You can find the form by an internet search at FAA.gov AME Guide. The form doesn’t have an actual government form number. It all gets sent to OK City by your AME, and in 2-3 weeks you will have an answer. That’s a total of 16 weeks of being grounded.

Good luck friend. I'm on your side.

A little more info I dug up for you here:

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/he ... ease_prot/

Then you can click on the medical problem you want info on.

Metformin is the name of the drug that is most commonly prescribed as is acceptable to the FAA.
You actually can reduce your grounded time to 14 days if this is the only drug you’ve been prescribed.

A friend of mine was pre-diabetic and his A1C was below 9%, but when he listed it on his medical paperwork, all kinds of alarms sounded. 14 days later he was back in the air. No problem.

Any other Diabetic pilots that would like to provide info here? Thanks.

Even more diabetic info:

Remember that form that your primary doctor fills out and you give to your AME I told you about?
Line #8 of the form says “…any evidence of progressive diabetes included end organ disease?” Then lower down the form it says " Ophthamological.....Yes/NO?". How does your primary doctor determine this?

Apparently this means that you need to go get an eye exam within the last 90 days, and sign a consent form ( very important ) to have it faxed over to your primary doctor so he can fill out the form. Then take it all to your AME. Also have the eye exam sent to the AME as a backup. You will need to do this yearly for as long as you fly in order to keep getting that Diabetic Waiver.

Good to know all these little things that cause delays.

And I just found this:

Blood Hemoglobin % A1C verses Blood Glucose ( eAG ) numbers.

Ok…. so your watching what you eat. You ditched the soda pop’s and candy bars. You changed to “whole wheat” everything, upped the fiber intake, and started taking walks, and eat only natural sugars ( like fruit ).

Nice job!

That A1c test is marked on the calendar. It’s going to take you 90 days to get the A1C below 9.0 % to get your medical back, right?
You’re testing your blood glucose every day when you get up before breakfast. And when you can, you are testing before dinner and then 2.0-2.5 hrs after dinner to see how your body is handling meals. You always take your Metformin and other meds.

You feel that you are doing your part. Are you going to pass your A1C test?

Keep track of your Glucose in a log. You know how to do that right, Captain? Take the average Glucose level and convert it to A1C % using this table below:

A1C %. VS. Estimate Average Glucose level (eAG )
5.0%= 97
5.5% 111
6.0% 126
6.5% 140
7.0% 154
7.5% 169
8.0% 183
8.5% 197
9.0% 212
9.5% 226
10.0% 240.

This should help you predict what your A1c test will be.

Although 9.0 % A1C is an FAA minimum, you do not want to go through life with that number. That 9.0 % A1C is much too high. Work on getting it down to 5% A1C if you can. Why bother? Because with 9.0% A1C you can still have heart problems, nerve issues in your feet and certain other male parts. ( yes “Zzz”, that means Penis ! ). Your eye sight will worsen. It can affect your kidneys, and a whole bunch of other things. Don’t live will high A1C. it’s quite easy to fix.

It won’t even hurt. All it takes, is to pee in a cup to start the process.

Another reason to lower your A1C % is that lowering your blood sugars can improve your eye sight.

I now have two confirmed cases of pilots, personally know by myself, that cut quite a bit of sugar out of their diets, and have had a noticeable improvement in eyesight. One is not a diabetic at all, and the other is a type 2 diabetic. This won’t automatically happen to everybody upon reducing sugars, but it does to some.

High blood sugar causes the eyes to swell just barely enough to change your vision. Also, insulin resistance can prevent eyes from receiving the energy to do their proper job in the first place.

It will take up to 2-3 months, but you just might notice that your glasses are not working for you the same as they were before. Get your eyes rechecked, they might have improved a little. You just might be prescribed a weaker correction. Be patient, it takes time to reduce the swelling.

The one gent is an airline captain and he slowly noticed it was easier to see the fine print on his Jepps plates. He did not wear glasses before I should note, but said most definitely that his vision is better without all the sugar. The other noticed the numbers on his watch were that he didn’t have to hold it so far away from his face anymore. So called “arms not long enough syndrome” . A FAA Doctors testing removed the limitation of eye glasses on his medical.

Give it a shot guys. Glasses suck. At least you can try and make the prescription a little weaker, maybe.

I hope the same happens for you. Prayers going your way