Medical check

[happylanding]

Boys,
today I had my medical check for the flight and - as usual - when in happens, I was scared to death! I was then wondering: am I alone, fearing it?  Today, I was obsessed with the fact I had been told that my medical had automatically expired when I got operated of tonsillectomia, but it seems that it was considered no big issue at all, nothing to fret about. By the way, the doc was late and I was in the waiting room thinking that maybe I should have chosen another day and still could escape At the end, I felt somehow stupid, why do I always have not to sleep the night before, because of that??? 

[Ragwing]

Your flight medical is very scary to most pilots.
Say one thing wrong and the FAA holds your future in their hands.

Some pilots go through rituals and home remedies to hopefully hide any problems.
And yes, your tonsillectomy invalidated your medical.

One pilot had his last migraine 12 years ago and the FAA still holds it against him.
Every have a kidney stone?  You have to have a doctor certify that you have not a trace anywhere, and the FAA will require re-certifications.

Some pilots pay the doctor to do a checkup, and if they pass, they schedule their flight physical with the same doc the next day.
Scary - YES

[Fabo]

Ragwing, we are talking about JAA class 2, not FAA class 1. Things can be different.

[Mike]

I always worry about my eye test. I wear contacts and I have my doctor slightly undercorrect my vision by a tiny hair because every time he puts it to the exact correction my eyes seem to get worse (because they get lazy I guess). So usually I can read the line above the one the medical doc wants me to read really well. The one that counts is a little fuzzy but I usually get it right.
Just nervous about the time I don't . . . 

And then of course there is that constant worry that something won't check out for some reason. Something you didn't think of. (blood pressure, things like that). Especially if you fly for a living I would say the medical is definitely a stress factor (especially when you get older)

[Fabo]

Ahh, contacts... a heaven and hell in one small, two-compartment holder.

I am firmly decided that I am getting a laser surgery. Question is only when I will get to it. And how it would affect medical examinations - I am OK with losing Class 1, but I dont fancy it messing with my Class 2, even if it was "just" losing it for couple years.

[undatc]

Us controllers are in the same boat.  Most of us go to the same doc, and we all have our certain 'rituals' we do before we go too.  Its impressive how many 350+ pound dudes come back with shiny new class 2's.

On a side note, for us taking nyquil is a 72 hour return to work for us.  Stupid.