Class 1 Medical w/ Mental Health History

FlySox

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FlySox
I'm a 32 y/o with a PPL and 81TT. I got my license when I was 18 and pretty much did not fly again (nothing that could be logged, anyhow). So my currency and medical lapsed.

In January 2011, I was serving as an infantryman in the Army when I voluntarily went to the hospital due to "thoughts I was having". That's literally what I said at the ER desk, "I want to talk to somebody about the thoughts that I'm having." They checked me in and I ended up spending about a week in the psych ward. I found my medical records/notes regarding this event- they state that I was there for adjustment disorder and that I had suicidal ideation, although it also quotes me as saying at the time, "I don't think I would have actually done it." There was never any suicide attempt or even a plan, and the feelings as a whole were driven by external factors (parents got divorced, serious girlfriend cheated on me, and was in the worst/most toxic military unit I'd ever been in all at the same time).

After leaving inpatient, I was prescribed Zoloft for 6-7 months. I took it faithfully until the prescriptions ran out, I successfully completed my outpatient treatment, and I have been on no medications nor seen any psych therapists since that time. That was August 2011. For what it's worth, I've since deployed to Afghanistan for nine months and, after leaving Active Duty, served in the National Guard and been employed full-time with only one employer.

I want to get into professional flying, so I scheduled my Class 1 with an AME. I did my Medxpress form (before I had the records in hand) and I identified this event as "exogenous depression". Other than the exact label, my memory was accurate.

Any idea how this is gonna go? Should I go to the AME as scheduled or should I cancel that one and go directly to a HIMS AME? I have a couple in my area to choose from.

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
Do NOT go to the AME for the Class 1. Ask for a consult. If the AME will not do a consult, find another AME.
Work with the AME to get your ducks in a row before you do anything. It may mean a consult with the HIMS AME. A consult.

Mike - your turn.
 
I hope it goes well for you, thank you for your service. Hopefully Dr Lou or Dr Bruce Chien will check in and see this. Dr Bruce can be contacted at http://www.aeromedicaldoc.com/ just be honest with him, read and follow the instructions on how to contact him.
 
Do NOT go to the AME for the Class 1. Ask for a consult. If the AME will not do a consult, find another AME.
Work with the AME to get your ducks in a row before you do anything. It may mean a consult with the HIMS AME. A consult.

Mike - your turn.
What Blanche has said here.

Cancel the official live exam you scheduled.

Then find the local HIMS AME and schedule a consultant and education appointment. Use this visit to discuss your case “off the record” and become educated on what the steps are to obtain your medical, including hoops to jump through, documents to obtain, and examinations to do. Also find out how the FAA might respond and react.

Only once you are fully educated, fully aware of how to do it, and fully confident you will pass on the first go around, do you go to the right AME or HIMS AME and do an “on record” exam.
 
The magic words are suicidal ideation. If those words can be found on any record that the FAA can see (which is darned near any record that exists) you've got a high hurdle.
Good luck.
 
...do as stated above and make contact with Dr. Bruce.

Your case is what he does and he is very good at it.
 
Still open to more feedback, but thanks for the responses so far. I've done as advised and sent an email to Dr. Bruce. We'll see how it goes!
 
More of the same. Cancel the AME appointment. Get more information about whether this is a feasible career path for you.

Talk to Dr Bruce. He knows much more than all of us. I have a feeling that Class 1 and flying for a living isn't in the future. Hope I'm wrong. Which is a damn shame. You served your country, suffered a battle wound (it just wasn't physical), and sounds like you'd make a great pilot.

Like I said, I hope my hunch is wrong.
 
Still open to more feedback, but thanks for the responses so far. I've done as advised and sent an email to Dr. Bruce. We'll see how it goes!
The feedback provided is all you need from a bunch of pilots on the interwebs. The rest is up to Doc Bruce and you. Good luck.
 
I don't know when the live exam with the AME was scheduled for, but as others have said, cancel it and see what Dr. Chien advises. He is the expert. Going to the AME without knowing you will be issued a certificate based on a consult could have avoidable negative consequences for future flying.

I just note that you state you are almost 10 years without any psych meds or recurrence. The described suicidal ideation is on the very low end of that type of thinking. I think there is a good chance this could have a positive outcome.
 
I once took another vet to a vet org service officer for another matter. The service officer dropped the remark that he could raise a vet's disability rating another 20% if the vet merely stated that he was required to handle remains of deceased service members. An extra $250 per month aint worth it.
 
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