A
Anon
Guest
I’ve recently started flight lessons and I’m loving every minute. Wasn’t sure if I’d be nervous or how that first flight would go. Surprisingly I’m very calm and just thrilled with being in the air. I trust the plane and my CFI. I don’t like standing on a roof but 3000ft is just fine.
I looked into getting my 3rd class medical certificate and discovered I may be in for a ride with the FAA and following whatever steps they say I must take.
A little history. In 2011 my home was destroyed in a flood. My wife, 9 month old daughter and I had to move in with my parents. The process of dealing with flood insurance (I don’t suggest it) was a mess. We ended up getting shorted quite a bit for the rebuild and the house stayed partially repaired. During that time I noticed that every time it would rain of any significance I would have anxiety. I couldn’t help but think about the house being flooded and dealing with it all over again. After experiencing this a few times I went to my PCP who prescribed Valium 5mg PRN. Over time my dads health declined (I donated him a kidney in 2009) and my parents convinced us we should stay with them to help out. We kept our other property along with paying the bills at my parents property and eventually took out a mortgage with the thinking we would eventually sell my parents home and move back since it was a unique property. This past year we decided we are never going to make it work moving back to our old house. Just won’t work while taking care of my mom, my dad passed away in 2018. In November I was having right hip and coccyx pain. I went to my PCP who suggested that the muscle pain was stress related and prescribed Zoloft (in hindsight I feel like I should have toughed it out until after going to a chiropractor for a few sessions). I thought the Zoloft helped somewhat but ultimately going to a chiropractor has relieved my pain. In February we got an offer on our old house and we settled in March. Since that time I haven’t taken any medication or renewed any prescriptions. My stress seems to be relieved. I actually enjoy the rain now, especially thunderstorms. Life is good. Finances are great (right time to sell a property), which lead me to start flying. Flying was previously not financially in the cards.
I have a follow up with my PCP this week. I’m concerned that this history (my diagnoses since looking them up are “Post Traumatic Stress Anxiety” and “Anxious Depression”) will prevent me from obtaining my 3rd class medical. Dr. Bruce suggested seeing a psychiatrist. He is the expert, so Friday I will ask my PCP for a referral. I expect I will be referred to a HIMS AME after I am assessed by the AME for my medical. I won’t apply until after seeing a psychiatrist and having a prescription history showing no recent medication. I want to have everything possible in place when applying so I can have the best outcome. I hope things will work out but with everything I read I am still unsure. Sport pilot would be okay but I’d love to travel with my family of 4 and a two seater just won’t cut it. I’m not too worried about costs related to evaluations, etc. I just don’t want to be declined and then end up not being eligible for sport pilot either. Has anyone gone through a similar process? After seeing a psychiatrist I hope I’ll have a better idea of how things will go. I’m a Registered Nurse and trusted with peoples lives on a regular basis. Shocked but not shocked (since it’s the government) that my dreams of aviation may get shot down for taking care of my mental health. Is there anything else I should prepare before seeing the first AME? Is there anything that I should request from my PCP as far as documentation? Besides what I’ve written here, is there anything else that I need to tell the psychiatrist when I see him/her? I expect they won’t have any clue what the FAA will want to see.
Sorry for the long post. It helps to write all this out completely and get others opinions.
I looked into getting my 3rd class medical certificate and discovered I may be in for a ride with the FAA and following whatever steps they say I must take.
A little history. In 2011 my home was destroyed in a flood. My wife, 9 month old daughter and I had to move in with my parents. The process of dealing with flood insurance (I don’t suggest it) was a mess. We ended up getting shorted quite a bit for the rebuild and the house stayed partially repaired. During that time I noticed that every time it would rain of any significance I would have anxiety. I couldn’t help but think about the house being flooded and dealing with it all over again. After experiencing this a few times I went to my PCP who prescribed Valium 5mg PRN. Over time my dads health declined (I donated him a kidney in 2009) and my parents convinced us we should stay with them to help out. We kept our other property along with paying the bills at my parents property and eventually took out a mortgage with the thinking we would eventually sell my parents home and move back since it was a unique property. This past year we decided we are never going to make it work moving back to our old house. Just won’t work while taking care of my mom, my dad passed away in 2018. In November I was having right hip and coccyx pain. I went to my PCP who suggested that the muscle pain was stress related and prescribed Zoloft (in hindsight I feel like I should have toughed it out until after going to a chiropractor for a few sessions). I thought the Zoloft helped somewhat but ultimately going to a chiropractor has relieved my pain. In February we got an offer on our old house and we settled in March. Since that time I haven’t taken any medication or renewed any prescriptions. My stress seems to be relieved. I actually enjoy the rain now, especially thunderstorms. Life is good. Finances are great (right time to sell a property), which lead me to start flying. Flying was previously not financially in the cards.
I have a follow up with my PCP this week. I’m concerned that this history (my diagnoses since looking them up are “Post Traumatic Stress Anxiety” and “Anxious Depression”) will prevent me from obtaining my 3rd class medical. Dr. Bruce suggested seeing a psychiatrist. He is the expert, so Friday I will ask my PCP for a referral. I expect I will be referred to a HIMS AME after I am assessed by the AME for my medical. I won’t apply until after seeing a psychiatrist and having a prescription history showing no recent medication. I want to have everything possible in place when applying so I can have the best outcome. I hope things will work out but with everything I read I am still unsure. Sport pilot would be okay but I’d love to travel with my family of 4 and a two seater just won’t cut it. I’m not too worried about costs related to evaluations, etc. I just don’t want to be declined and then end up not being eligible for sport pilot either. Has anyone gone through a similar process? After seeing a psychiatrist I hope I’ll have a better idea of how things will go. I’m a Registered Nurse and trusted with peoples lives on a regular basis. Shocked but not shocked (since it’s the government) that my dreams of aviation may get shot down for taking care of my mental health. Is there anything else I should prepare before seeing the first AME? Is there anything that I should request from my PCP as far as documentation? Besides what I’ve written here, is there anything else that I need to tell the psychiatrist when I see him/her? I expect they won’t have any clue what the FAA will want to see.
Sorry for the long post. It helps to write all this out completely and get others opinions.
