Cymbalta =Grounded?

G

Gygax's Chosen

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I have for a few years now taken a regular dose of cymbalta for depression and anxiety. Nothing severe, never been suicidal or anywhere near it.

Will this prohibit me from obtaining my private medical? I dont want to earn money or start a buissness. I just want to fly myself and a few buddies arround.
 
So, you haven't gone for a medical yet. Right? Well, don't. Absolutely do not fill out the form for the medical and just show up for an appointment.

You need to get with a well qualified AME to sort this out before you take the medical and before you are totally hosed. Don't rely just on advice from here.
Someone like Dr. Bruce Chien in Peoria Ill would be worth the money spent.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
So, you haven't gone for a medical yet. Right? Well, don't. Absolutely do not fill out the form for the medical and just show up for an appointment.

You need to get with a well qualified AME to sort this out before you take the medical and before you are totally hosed. Don't rely just on advice from here.
Someone like Dr. Bruce Chien in Peoria Ill would be worth the money spent.
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Well i already had a medical clearence 3rd class. But i started the cymbalta after that. And it has sense expired
 
Is it ultralights lightsport or experimental aircraft that dont require a liscence?
 
My experience is that you will have to be off the drug for 90 days and your doctor will have to sign off that you are off and don't need it... otherwise its a very expensive and time consuming process involving psych profiles, etc... I was lucky enough to get by with the former
 
FlySince9 said:
My experience is that you will have to be off the drug for 90 days and your doctor will have to sign off that you are off and don't need it... otherwise its a very expensive and time consuming process involving psych profiles, etc... I was lucky enough to get by with the former
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Well it might not be all bad news. Ive stepped down from 90 mg to 60 mg. So that might not be out of the realm of possibility.

I have a very good relationship with my psychiatrist, She knew about my desire to be a pilot when she prescribed for me. Im certain she would help me by any reasonable means. I just want to know what it would take from the FAA
 
IANAD, but cymbalta is not approved by the FAA and you've been on it a long time. If you could switch to one of the approved SSRIs, maybe you'd have a chance at a SI, but that is speculation by some guy on the internet. For real answers, call Bruce.

Do not step into an AME's office until this is resolved; a denial will irrevocably prevent you from flying light sport.
 
Gygax's Chosen said:
Is it ultralights lightsport or experimental aircraft that dont require a liscence?
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Ultralights require neither a certificate nor a medical.
Light sport requires a certificate but not a medical.
The color of your plane's airworthiness certificate doesn't matter.
 
GeorgeC said:
Ultralights require neither a certificate nor a medical.
Light sport requires a certificate but not a medical.
The color of your plane's airworthiness certificate doesn't matter.
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Well it does matter if i cant get cleared for a medical
 
Gygax's Chosen said:
Well it does matter if i cant get cleared for a medical
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It's possible you're not clear on how this works.

You can fly a light sport without a medical only if you have never had a medical denied. IOW, you can get a sport pilot license and go fly one without ever having gone to an AME.

BUT, if you do go to an AME and your clearance is denied, you cannot then go fly light sport.

A denial will leave you completely screwed, which is why people are telling you to contact Dr. Bruce before going to see an AME.

OTOH, if you can be content with flying daytime VFR and only carrying one passenger, a sport license might be sufficient for you and you wouldn't need the medical exam.

It's possible, though, that flying would still be illegal because you know you're using a medication that would result in a denial. You need qualified professional advice. Contact Dr. Bruce.
 
Half Fast said:
It's possible you're not clear on how this works.

You can fly a light sport without a medical only if you have never had a medical denied. IOW, you can get a sport pilot license and go fly one without ever having gone to an AME.

BUT, if you do go to an AME and your clearance is denied, you cannot then go fly light sport.

A denial will leave you completely screwed, which is why people are telling you to contact Dr. Bruce before going to see an AME.

OTOH, if you can be content with flying daytime VFR and only carrying one passenger, a sport license might be sufficient for you and you wouldn't need the medical exam.

It's possible, though, that flying would still be illegal because you know you're using a medication that would result in a denial. You need qualified professional advice. Contact Dr. Bruce.
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Ok thank you alot. I appologise i am new to these forums. Who is Dr. Bruce? And how can i contact him?

Also i would be very dissapointed with those limitations on the legality of my flying. I live in america damnit! Not soviet russia. Whats with all this leagal bs?
 
Gygax's Chosen said:
Ok thank you alot. I appologise i am new to these forums. Who is Dr. Bruce? And how can i contact him?

Also i would be very dissapointed with those limitations on the legality of my flying. I live in america damnit! Not soviet russia. Whats with all this leagal bs?
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http://www.aeromedicaldoc.com/

FAA is concerned with both the medication's possible effects and the underlying reasons why you're taking it. Depression and anxiety could both have serious flight safety implications.

What it comes down to for you is that both your diagnoses and your long-term (in FAA's opinion) use of Cymbalta are going to prevent you from renewing your medical unless you jump through some hoops first. Your current Cymbalta use also grounds you in the interim from any flying that requires a medical. So your basic choices come down to:

1. Talking to someone like Dr. Bruce and trying to jump through all the hoops so you can get your medical renewed. You might be able to continue taking a low-dose antidepressent, but I believe it would have to be an SSRI. (Cymbalta is an SNRI.) Dr. Bruce would know. He wrote the protocol.

2. Letting your medical expire and going for Sport Pilot. You'd still have to be able to honestly self-certify to your fitness and avoid certain medications, but you wouldn't have to worry about getting a medical as long as you have a state-issued driver's license.

3. Flying ultralights.

To make it clear, if you are denied a medical, then option 2 disappears. So don't apply until you're sure you're going to pass.

Rich

EDIT: There are also gliders and free balloons, neither of which require medicals. You can also fly self-launching gliders (which are looking more and more like powered airplanes these days) without a medical.
 
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Half Fast said:
It's possible you're not clear on how this works.

You can fly a light sport without a medical only if you have never had a medical denied. IOW, you can get a sport pilot license and go fly one without ever having gone to an AME.
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This is not quite true. What counts is your last interaction with FAA medical. If you're denied, and then subsequently approved, then it doesn't matter that you were denied before, you can fly light sport. This is why Bruce sometimes helps pilots get that one-time SI and then tells them to let it expire. At that point they're good to go for light sport privileges as long as they don't get a subsequent denial.
 
When I am feeling down in the dumps, there is no medication that works better then flying in the clouds! Not saying that there are not those who need it, just saying that when my dad died, I was really bummed. Had I gone to see a doc I would have been offered a pill to cure my sadness. All I needed was to get in the air. I was not clinically depressed, just missing my old man. Maybe people just need to find something that they love to get their minds off of what bothers them. Flying is the best drug I've ever taken!!
 
mulligan said:
When I am feeling down in the dumps, there is no medication that works better then flying in the clouds! Not saying that there are not those who need it, just saying that when my dad died, I was really bummed. Had I gone to see a doc I would have been offered a pill to cure my sadness. All I needed was to get in the air. I was not clinically depressed, just missing my old man. Maybe people just need to find something that they love to get their minds off of what bothers them. Flying is the best drug I've ever taken!!
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I can relate to how you feel, but having a spouse who has been suffering with severe depression and accompanied her to many doctor visits, there is a world of separation between feeling blue/down in the dumps and depression.

For a genuinely depressed person, even the things that used to give them pleasure leave them feeling empty.
 
Fearless Tower said:
I can relate to how you feel, but having a spouse who has been suffering with severe depression and accompanied her to many doctor visits, there is a world of separation between feeling blue/down in the dumps and depression.

For a genuinely depressed person, even the things that used to give them pleasure leave them feeling empty.
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I 100% agree. My point is that there are many doctors that are way to quick with a prescription pad for those who do not fall into that category. I am not nor have I ever been depressed. But if I ever told a doctor that I was upset about a life event, I guarantee they would willingly write a prescription that was not needed. It's a fundamental problem with out society. It used to be suck it up buttercup but now it's swallow this and it will all be ok.
 
If you contact Dr Bruce, you have to be honest. He will be honest with you.

Given that you have a diagnosis of depression, getting a medical is a bit involved. You will require a 'special issuance' under the SSRI protocol. As Bruce was one of the AMEs who wrote and proposed that protocol to the FAA, he'll be the best source to tell you whether you qualify. The '90 day washout and a doctor's letter' thing applies to patients who received a SSRI for a non-depression diagnosis ('stress at work', 'gastric reflux','menopause'). If you follow Bruces direction and don't BS him you will either:
- get a straightforward answer that you'll never have a medical
- get your 3rd class with depression SI within a year

Good luck. And drop the Soviet Russia references.
 
azure said:
This is not quite true. What counts is your last interaction with FAA medical. If you're denied, and then subsequently approved, then it doesn't matter that you were denied before, you can fly light sport.
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I was not aware of that, thank you!
 
lbfjrmd said:
i think he would agree that all HIMS-AMEs are designated to approach this problem.
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Indeed :) :)
It is a situation that the community AME is much less equipped to deal with- but a HIMS trained AME makes a big difference in this one.
 
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