Sarcoidosis

[airboose driver]

Just been diagnosed with sarcoidosis! Not a major problem in any other walk of life but pretty serious in aviation. Anybody been through this who could give me an idea of procedures and time scales to get my medical back? Thanks.:(

[Pigsfly]

My Buddy had it about 10 years back. Never realised he had any problem and AME spotted it on a Chest X-Ray at renewal. He unwent steroid treatment which aided recovery. Treatment, recovery and post recovery testing for the (Irish) Aviation Authority too about a year or so in all if memory serves me correctly. But he made full recovery and no further problems.

Best of luck with your recovery.

[airboose driver]

pigsfly, thanks for the info, encouraging that your buddy got back flying even if it took a year.

[Granny]

I was dianosed with Sarcoidosis in 1999, It was discovered during a initial medical for a foreign licence I was applying for.
I underwnt a biopsy to confirm it was Sarcoidosis, which it was.
The first step for me was complete test to isolate where it had affected me,I did liver function tests , saw a nueroligist, resting and stress ECG on treadmill, and wore a 24 hr holter monitor for an ECG.
The telling sign for Sarcoidosis is weather it is active or not , this is acheived thru blood tests for the angeotesting enziyme.
You need to see specalists and rule out any cardiac involvment asap.
Let us know how you get on or PM there is lots to consider such as diet etc that helped me. I was back flying in a few months.
Good Luck

[john_tullamarine]

A close relative was affected around 25 years ago and I did quite a bit of research at that time. Interestingly, I could find only two texts on the disease in the Melbourne Uni medical library .. Points from the memory recall .. and later research may have changed some of the details (eg here (http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2043.htm))

(a) one of the autoimmune diseases

(b) no known cause, although my relative noted that the only recent thing out of the ordinary was a short period of moderate to severe grass fire smoke inhalation a couple of weeks prior to the onset of symptoms

(c) fairly infrequent incidence

(d) two main forms - acute and chronic with an intermediate presentation as well.

The acute (or benign) form burns itself out in a couple of months. Immediate problem is acute arthritic symptoms in the joints - near crippling - so rest and aspirin is the main treatment. The only (presumed) sequelae for the relative is a nuisance on-going tactile finger feedback problem in that he drops things like keys occasionally simply due to not applying enough pressure to the grip. Main concern during the event is the need for detailed investigation to ensure that the nasty form is not involved. Characteristic chest xray (bilateral hilar lymph node enlargement).

The chronic form can be very nasty and involves granulomas which either resolve themselves or end up generating fibroid tissue which can cause serious problems with the affected organ.

For what it's worth the relative has no problems other than the tactile thing.