Board certified psychiatrist familiar with FAA process - in PA area

[JavNag]

Hello everyone,

I am new here.

I was on Zoloft (prescribed by physician for anxiety) for more than 5 years.
Got off medication 6 months ago under physicians guidance.

Never seen a psychiatrist. Would like to consult a board certified psychiatrist for evaluation, before starting the MedXPress process for 3rd class medical.

Any recommendations for "FAA known" board certified psychiatrist in PA / NJ / NY area ?

Greatly appreciate your help.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Strutwipe]

First, I am surprised that no one picked up on this request for information.

I went to the Dr. and said my job is stressing me out and my Dr. said here, pop these. Now, there is more to the story but when I went to the AME, I pulled the pin on the grenade on the FAA med application and the AME threw it. Three years later, I am still in the holding pattern.

I will let others advise, much more knowable in this this department, but there are monsters in them waters.

You are smart to ask the question first. I wish I did.

 

[RussS]

Tom Riordan in the Philly area. Known to the FAA. He may want a referral from a HIMS AME though for an FAA evaluation.

 

[lbfjrmd]

no list ... u have to call around. a HIMS ame can send you to a HIMS psychaitrist. A consult with a hims ame is what i would advise.

 

[Mike Erwin]

Hello everyone,

I am new here.

I was on Zoloft (prescribed by physician for anxiety) for more than 5 years.
Got off medication 6 months ago under physicians guidance.

Never seen a psychiatrist. Would like to consult a board certified psychiatrist for evaluation, before starting the MedXPress process for 3rd class medical.

Any recommendations for "FAA known" board certified psychiatrist in PA / NJ / NY area ?

Greatly appreciate your help.

Thanks in advance.

I got my PPL back in 2010 with a 3rd class medical when I wasn't on any meds. Stopped flying for a few years and took a horrible job in hospital management and got stressed out and depressed. Doctor put me on Wellbutrin and then had trouble sleeping so was put on some PRN doxepin at bedtime. Got back into flying a few years ago and transitioned to just sertraline and it worked well and my doctor signed me off to do BasicMed and I disclosed everything. I also finally decided to see a therapist every few months for non-drug ways to deal with anxiety/depression which was a very positive experience.

I went to get my 2nd class medical in November and AME couldn't issue and had to defer it and discussed with him, my therapist and PCP about a taper to get off the Zoloft. I notified the FAA that I was going the SSRI pathway to discontinue the med and after 60 days saw my therapist and doctor to get a treatment report about how things were going well and also wrote a personal statement which included a commitment to ground myself immediately and seek help if I ever had mental health issues. FAA responded to include a personal statement with a commitment to see the therapist quarterly so I did that and got my therapist to write a letter saying she was agreeable.

2nd class medical (SI) was issued a few weeks ago with a requirement that I bring my AME a yearly letter from my therapist about my quarterly visits. Happy to announce I'm a CFI as of June 7 flying under a 2nd class!

 

[JavNag]

no list ... u have to call around. a HIMS ame can send you to a HIMS psychaitrist. A consult with a hims ame is what i would advise.

Thank you. I am scheduling a consult with HIMS AME to review my case and documents, before submitting to MedX.

 

[JavNag]

I got my PPL back in 2010 with a 3rd class medical when I wasn't on any meds. Stopped flying for a few years and took a horrible job in hospital management and got stressed out and depressed. Doctor put me on Wellbutrin and then had trouble sleeping so was put on some PRN doxepin at bedtime. Got back into flying a few years ago and transitioned to just sertraline and it worked well and my doctor signed me off to do BasicMed and I disclosed everything. I also finally decided to see a therapist every few months for non-drug ways to deal with anxiety/depression which was a very positive experience.

I went to get my 2nd class medical in November and AME couldn't issue and had to defer it and discussed with him, my therapist and PCP about a taper to get off the Zoloft. I notified the FAA that I was going the SSRI pathway to discontinue the med and after 60 days saw my therapist and doctor to get a treatment report about how things were going well and also wrote a personal statement which included a commitment to ground myself immediately and seek help if I ever had mental health issues. FAA responded to include a personal statement with a commitment to see the therapist quarterly so I did that and got my therapist to write a letter saying she was agreeable.

2nd class medical (SI) was issued a few weeks ago with a requirement that I bring my AME a yearly letter from my therapist about my quarterly visits. Happy to announce I'm a CFI as of June 7 flying under a 2nd class!

Mike, Thanks for sharing your story. Gives me hope. May I ask, how long the process took from AME deferral to SI ?

 

[Mike Erwin]

Mike, Thanks for sharing your story. Gives me hope. May I ask, how long the process took from AME deferral to SI ?

It definitely takes too long as mine took about 6 months but yours might be quicker because you're starting the process already being off the med. It took them about 5 weeks to issue the first letter and all of the requirements to get a SI to stay on the med. After I sent in all of my documentation after being off the med for 60 days (personal statement, complete summary of my medical history/physician statement, therapist statement) it was a good 3 months to get reviewed by a physician in OKC. After I sent my letter committing to quarterly counseling sessions it was only a week until it was issued.

I would highly advise starting with a reputable and experienced HIMS-AME which there should be plenty of in your area. Every case is different depending on what other meds you were on and what is documented in your medical record. My advice is to be honest and disclose everything and have some patience with the process. You'll get there eventually!