Any pilots on board?

[gkainz]

Hi all - I'm a private pilot - curious if there are any other pilots on the board with OSA and Special Issuance medicals from the FAA?
Greg

[Guest]

I am a private pilot too. It took a few months, but I was able to get my special issuance 3rd class medical cert. The FAA wanted a MWT (maintenence of wakefullness test) to be performed. I had to spend the whole day at the sleep lab. They wired me up just like for a sleep study, but then locked me in a dark room for 30 minutes at a time several times throughout the day where I was expected to remain totally awake, without moving around or doing anything to force myself to stay awake. It was a boring, but easy test. My cert says on it, "Not valid for any class after <date>". I have to go back every year, but have not had to repeat the MWT thankfully. I think the FAA just wanted to be sure that the CPAP was properly treating the excessive daytime sleepiness.

[WindFlyer]

Commercial instrument pilot here. Not current since '03 though. Finally diagnosed with OSA in '04 so I didn't have any problems with medical in the past, although it looks like I may have some now if I want to get my medical back again.

If only passing that MWT test would bring the cost of life insurance down for me. It sucks that they charge extra for life insurance when you have OSA, even though it's being treated so that it's not a factor. It's the idjits out there who have OSA and don't know it who should be paying extra. Oh well- insurance is a racket as we on this board know all too well

[yardbird]

I'm not paying extra for life insurance. We even TOLD the agent I have OSA. He said, "Are you being treated with CPAP?". I said I was and that I even took it with me when traveling. He said, "Then it's not even an issue."

Basically what he explained was that they determined the risk for OSA that's being TREATED to be statistically insignificant. He said it was more scarey to think about how many people didn't know they HAVE apnea and are NOT being treated for it.

I found a number of things interesting. One was that he even knew ANYTHING about sleep apnea, and further that the insurance company educated their agents about it. EVEN THOUGH it was deemed statistically insignificant.

So I guess the point here is that you may want to shop around for a different life insurance company. I've got at least 3 different policies (one from MY employer, one from WIFE's employer and the "main" one that we pay for) and NONE of them considers treated OSA to be additional risk.

Just my 2 cents.... now I'm broke

[slumberer]

Thanks for the information on the sleep wakefulness test. I am also a private pilot with a 3rd class. This summer, I'm going back to my flight surgeon to find out what I need to do to get my certificate back. Nice to know you got yours back.