Anxiety and 3rd class medical

P

Phoebe Shultz

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Hello, I’m looking for some advice / what I can expect with this process maybe from other people who’ve experienced it or are familiar with it.

I’m currently working on getting my PPL and had my 3rd class medical deferred because I disclosed I have a generalized anxiety disorder diagnosis from my therapist (for insurance purposes) and otherwise. I’ve been going to therapy for a year and a half (since the beginning of the pandemic) due to high stress as a full time student (I’m 21) while working almost full time and being in a terrible housing situation. I’ve never been on medication and am currently not taking anything and I have no history of hospitalizations.
I saw an AME for the exam on 8/30 and got a letter from the FAA on 9/22 requesting “pertinent treatment records regarding your history of anxiety”. I had a consultation with a HIMS AME who was very helpful, he advised me to get a letter from my therapist to which details the nature of the therapy. My therapist wrote a treatment summary which expresses why I went to therapy in the first place and that my prognosis is favorable and I’ve made significant progress with coping with my anxiety and am still in therapy for support with my interpersonal peer relationships. the FAA has received the letter as of today, 10/13 and I’m wondering what more I could expect to happen. My CFI says I’m ready to solo and All we’re waiting for is the medical. I’ve read some threads where people say that it takes 6 months for the FAA to respond and that they ask for more information or a psych evaluation. And I’ve also read some things where people say after they’ve submitted the information they’ve respond between 3-8 months and just issue a normal medical certificate. I just don’t know what to expect and my anxiety is so minimal in my life, it especially in no way affects me flying, I feel calm and controlled and safe always when flying even when practicing emergency maneuvers.

has anyone else experienced a similar situation with GAD diagnosis and the FAA? Especially being un-medicated. Thanks for taking the time to read.
 
Get you CFI to write a letter to the effect that in his opinion you train normally multitask normally, and that no abnormality is apparent. You want to make the case that the condition does not interfere with flying duties!
 
Hello, I’m looking for some advice / what I can expect with this process maybe from other people who’ve experienced it or are familiar with it.

I’m currently working on getting my PPL and had my 3rd class medical deferred because I disclosed I have a generalized anxiety disorder diagnosis from my therapist (for insurance purposes) and otherwise. I’ve been going to therapy for a year and a half (since the beginning of the pandemic) due to high stress as a full time student (I’m 21) while working almost full time and being in a terrible housing situation. I’ve never been on medication and am currently not taking anything and I have no history of hospitalizations.
I saw an AME for the exam on 8/30 and got a letter from the FAA on 9/22 requesting “pertinent treatment records regarding your history of anxiety”. I had a consultation with a HIMS AME who was very helpful, he advised me to get a letter from my therapist to which details the nature of the therapy. My therapist wrote a treatment summary which expresses why I went to therapy in the first place and that my prognosis is favorable and I’ve made significant progress with coping with my anxiety and am still in therapy for support with my interpersonal peer relationships. the FAA has received the letter as of today, 10/13 and I’m wondering what more I could expect to happen. My CFI says I’m ready to solo and All we’re waiting for is the medical. I’ve read some threads where people say that it takes 6 months for the FAA to respond and that they ask for more information or a psych evaluation. And I’ve also read some things where people say after they’ve submitted the information they’ve respond between 3-8 months and just issue a normal medical certificate. I just don’t know what to expect and my anxiety is so minimal in my life, it especially in no way affects me flying, I feel calm and controlled and safe always when flying even when practicing emergency maneuvers.

has anyone else experienced a similar situation with GAD diagnosis and the FAA? Especially being un-medicated. Thanks for taking the time to read.

Hey there,
I was in a similar situation as you where I had an anxiety diagnosis due to seeing a therapist a few times during covid. Never medicated and treatment concluded after less than ten sessions. It was the only time I ever sought mental health treatment in my life. I disclosed the anxiety diagnosis on my medical application because I wanted to keep everything above board. I was issued in office but received a letter similar to yours asking for more info. I had my therapist send in a summary letter of my treatment and received a reply after 4 months saying I was good to go after review. Held off my solo until said good to go letter came in. I can understand how frustrating it is to deal with this especially when it is a non medicated minimal issue but you will get your medical in time. It just will take patience. It was the sweetest feeling when I finally opened the letter telling me I was good to go. Hope it all works out for you and I hope my perspective helps you get a better idea of how long this may take.
 
Get you CFI to write a letter to the effect that in his opinion you train normally multitask normally, and that no abnormality is apparent. You want to make the case that the condition does not interfere with flying duties!

thank you so much. This is very helpful. My CFI was happy to write the letter and I’ll be submitting it today. I’ll update when I Know more.
 
Hey there,
I was in a similar situation as you where I had an anxiety diagnosis due to seeing a therapist a few times during covid. Never medicated and treatment concluded after less than ten sessions. It was the only time I ever sought mental health treatment in my life. I disclosed the anxiety diagnosis on my medical application because I wanted to keep everything above board. I was issued in office but received a letter similar to yours asking for more info. I had my therapist send in a summary letter of my treatment and received a reply after 4 months saying I was good to go after review. Held off my solo until said good to go letter came in. I can understand how frustrating it is to deal with this especially when it is a non medicated minimal issue but you will get your medical in time. It just will take patience. It was the sweetest feeling when I finally opened the letter telling me I was good to go. Hope it all works out for you and I hope my perspective helps you get a better idea of how long this may take.

thank you so much for your response. It does feel quite frustrating, and it is good to hear that you had a similar experience and got through. I’m a bit worried more about my case because I’m choosing to continue to go to therapy and have been going since the beginning of the pandemic (about a year and a half) just for the continued support and help with my relationships. But because it’s a non medicated issue and the treatment summary from my therapist confirms I’ve made significant progress and have a very favorable prognosis I also hope it won’t be an issue.
I’m also going to take Dr. Chien’s advice and send in a letter from my CFI, crossing my fingers that the process moves quickly. I’ll let you know how it goes.
 
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