Asthma Problems with Class 1 Medical

[RemotecUK]

Hi,

What a day this is turning out to be....

Did my class 1 on Wednesday and there were concerned with my mild Asthma. So they made me run around the car park for six minutes and then do my FEV1.

The figures are as follows:

Before excercise: 73%
Straight after excercise: 60%
10 minutes after excercise: 61%

The limit is a 15% drop in FEV1 performance after excercise and Im around 18%. Great news.

Now the question is, is there anything I can do to improve this figure? My specialist has given me the impression that FEV1 isnt a product of overall fitness and if you have Asthma then getting fitter wont improve the FEV1.

Id be interested to hear of anyone else perhaps in a similar situation who has managed to overcome this problem. Maybe if I can improve my FEV1 anyway the figure after excercise will come up as well.

As luck would have it I only developed Asthma around 3 months ago and the timing could not be worse!

Cheers. :) :\

[Loose rivets]

In my unqualified opinion, you may be experiencing symptoms that give all the signs of asthma, but will simply go away.

Certainly getting fit, or fitter, will do nothing but good. While running, force the last creaking molecules of air out of your lungs and fill them fit to bust. ( work gradually up to this of course ) Most importantly, concentrate hard on thinking that this cold air going in is GOOD.

So many asthmatic type reactions are about the mind shutting systems down because of perceived danger. (This is a ‘hobby-horse' of mine, but is backed by some good science.)

When I wanted to go back to flying after a long break, my GP said, "Oh, I don't know...you had that asthma thing a while back." I told him how I had forced good clean air into the lower reaches of my lungs–sounding like a church organ on a thankfully deserted beach--and gradually got back to a top of the scale reading.

It has to be said, that whatever caused my sudden problem was very unpleasant.

You might even try running before the test so that the differential is not so great.


I know someone ;) ;) who was excused from all sports at school, then drew a crowd round the old puffer machine in Pread St. cos of blowing the needle off the scale.

[frodegh]

I've had exactly the same experience.. but eventually passed the class 1 last month..
I saw a great increase in the FEV results from getting my class 2 application rejected (!) to recieving my class 1.

This is what contributed to improving my FEV results:
1 Started running regularly
Better general condition and lung capacity should theoretically not improve things much, as asthma is about restriction of airflow from lungs and up.
Your result will repend on how they test it. If they just let you run for a while, you will be less exhausted and perform better after test if you're fit. However, if they are thorough, they let you run until you reach a specific pulse rate, and you will see less improvement. (theoretically none, according to my specialist, but I have trouble believing that..)

2 Lost weight (7kgs)
With asthma, losing fat around the neck area might contribute to expanding your air passage. The effect is minimal if you're skinny already, though. I'm not at all overweight, but the weightloss came with the excersize, so who knows..

3 Got a better allergy medicine
Effectively removed most of my allergy symptoms, which used to affect my asthma somehow.

4 Moved from old mold infested house
Asthma condition developed while living there...

I don't know which of these four changes improved things the most. I've asked all the medical personnell I've encountered while doing the aviation medicals, and they say it might be any/all of them..

On more thing: You can actually improve your score a whole lot by practising using that measuring device as well. The specialist I went to has even prescribed devices for practise to several clients!

So my advice is - don't give up just yet! :ok:

[RemotecUK]

Thanks for the information - very helpful.

Ill report back on the next result of the class 1. Hopefully in the next few weeks !!

[moo]

you could also try having a couple of puffs of your ventolin just before you walk through the doors at SRG, then when they make you run again, your airways will be expanded. worked for lots of people I know

[RemotecUK]

Thanks for the suggestion.

Is Ventolin allowed by the medical people or not allowed. Im not currently perscribed it but this would solve my problems - if its allowed by the CAA.

Thanks :)

[rab-k]

Dunno 'bout Pilot Class 1, or even if there is a difference between it and ATCO Class 1, but 'Salbutamol' (incl. brands like 'Ventolin'), were okay for ATCO Class 1. So too inhaled steriods, e.g. 'Becotide'.

What was a 'no-no' were steriods taken orally, i.e. in tablet or capsule form.

My experience was that so long as your condition was not debilitating and you did not have to use a 'reliever' several times a day just to live a 'normal' life, you were OK.

[frodegh]

I was told by the head medical doctor that ventoline is not accepted. The norwegian CAA draw the line between "Bronchodilators" that relieves symptoms (like ventoline), and Anti-inflammatory Drugs, that prevent symptoms.

They might be a bit on the strict side though.. As one of the docs told me they had an issue some years ago where a guy got the class 1, did the CPL/ATPL, only to be rejected somewhere abroad on first renewal. The guy sued them and it got ugly.

So do keep in mind the risk of getting worse and have your medical rejected later on.

[moo]

ventolin and salbutamol are both allowed by the UK CAA

[Shaft109]

To confirm Ventolin and Seretide are allowed by the CAA for Class 1 meds. Before I went down to Gatwick I began generally fitness training with some cardio just to give myself that boost.

Also I went to my local surgury and the nurse allowed me to practice on a spirometer and see the graphs it produced, as well as the readings themselves. The shape of graph is important as asthma can produce a distinctive flat curve, where the line doesn't climb quickly enough (as per FEV-1) indeed the army I believe look for this shape to make sure people who say they don't have asthma really don't!

Although slightly short on outright peak flow, my FEV -1 was above 73% and the graph climbed very steeply upto the peak flow, then followed the predicted curve down but slightly below it, in essence just from looking at the graph you wouldn't be able to tell.

In short get fit, stay fit and takes you inhalers PROPERLY. The correct technique is important. Aslo practice for the peak flow exhale, picture what squeezing a hosepipe will do the the water stream (it squirts out faster benoulli principle in action) so try and do the same thing with your mouth.

Shaft