I have 2 issues

Mike Smith

Mike Smith

En-Route
Joined
May 15, 2011
Messages
2,626
Location
Prattville, Alabama
Display Name
Display name:
Fresh Prince of PrattVegas
Ill make this short. First issue, when I got divorced about 12 years ago i got depressed. Went to a gp and he prescribed prozac. I also went to see a psychologist a few times. got well in about 6 months and have been fine ever since. Took Prozac for....um...bout 6-9 months as i recall. Second issue. Here about 6 months ago I had an episode of "spells" not vertigo or dizzy, just felt weird. Went to my doctor and he did a battery of tests like blood work and a physical. All that came back fine. He sent me to an ent for a complete battery of inner ear, hearing and balance test and that all came back fine. The "episodes" lasted about 2 weeks and after going back to my doctor to follow up, he said it was probably just stress. Do I have any problems here? Thanks in advance!

Mike
 
Mike your gonna have to disclose to th AME but as you will learn shortly its all about the way you prepare for the exam. Wait for Bruce to chime in and he can tell you what you need to allow the AME to issue if possible.
 
I dont mind providing documentation, and i dont mind running it all down. I guess what Im looking for is, bottom line, can I get a class III medical?
 
Mike I am not an AME but from the stuff I've read I'd really think so as it relates to the Prozac I'd actually be a bit more concerned about the " spells" Bruce who is an AME and a very knowledgeable one at that will chime in soon enough and tell you what it is you need to do,.
 
The Prozac is not an issue so long as you can DOCUMENT only six month so Prozac use. Not 184 days, or 185 or 200 days. Six MONTHS or fewer. Otherwise that needs a letter saying that since such and such you have had no symptoms of depression and have been unmedicated, and that your treatment was purely "reactive" to the situation. A Psych writing this is best.

The dizzies- just needs your doc who ordered all the tests to write a summary letter. Best part of this needs to emphasize that you have not had a recurrence over XYZ months, "likely viral" etc etc. Bring copies of the nystagmogram.

Yes you can get a third, but you need all the documents.
 
Thanks for the info Doc!. What is appropriate documentation of the prozac use? I haven't seen that gp or the psychologist in about 12 years....it was in another town. How can I prove I haven't taken it since? Are pharmacy records acceptable? Do I need to make an appt with a psych. To check me? Sorry for being ignorant, but I'm still a little foggy on appropriate docs.

Thanks
Mike
 
Pharmacy records are acceptable. But in your original post you said "6-9 months". If the records show more than six Rxs, you need to make a distant doctor visit....See, the AME can decide ".......if the total exposure was less than six months". But more than that, Ok City gets to make the decision.

In that case, the letter would be what's needed. The better the credentials, the stronger your application, but the original doc is the most powerful witness. A psychiatrist is the next best.
 
Mike - 2 comments

1) you can post anonymously in this forum. Not that I don't trust the government, but....

2) Take Doc Bruce's word at 100% face value. He's not just some nitwit on the internet. Whatever he says with regard to your medical -- do it. Trust me, and everyone on this board, and AOPA, and.......
 
He has only 2 issues?.......... lucky guy.......
 
Thanks for all of the advice, info and......wisecracks?! Seriously THANK YOU!!!! I have a plan now....a notebook full of things to start doing tomorrow to get my paperwork in order.... Last question...Would you continue training through this, or stop training and wait on the certificate?
 
flyersfan31 said:
2) Take Doc Bruce's word at 100% face value. He's not just some nitwit on the internet. Whatever he says with regard to your medical -- do it. Trust me, and everyone on this board, and AOPA, and.......
Click to expand...

"Do what Dr. Bruce says" should be in the description of this forum. :yes:
 
mikeinbama said:
Thanks for all of the advice, info and......wisecracks?! Seriously THANK YOU!!!! I have a plan now....a notebook full of things to start doing tomorrow to get my paperwork in order.... Last question...Would you continue training through this, or stop training and wait on the certificate?
Click to expand...
Depends on the verifiable accuracy of your first post. If it really is, then have at :). But pay attention to the length of Prozac exposure and the possibility of needing to see the psych (as well as documenting the "dizzy" issue)!
 
My divorce was depressing, but learning to fly fixed that problem!
 
Ok...prozac use was 8 months.....from 2/01-10/01 two different docs. Last doc was my local gp. If he writes a letter stating that I was fine after 10/01 will that be suffecient? I never was dizzy. And all the test showed no inner ear or hearing/balance problems. No problem getting the doc to write that letter. What else might I need?

Sent from my Ally using Tapatalk
 
mikeinbama said:
Ok...prozac use was 8 months.....from 2/01-10/01 two different docs. Last doc was my local gp. If he writes a letter stating that I was fine after 10/01 will that be suffecient? I never was dizzy. And all the test showed no inner ear or hearing/balance problems. No problem getting the doc to write that letter. What else might I need?

Sent from my Ally using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
The problem with the local doc is it usually says, "he fine" which is totally unacceptable to the FAA.

It has to say, "his diagnosis was reactive depression. He was taking Prozac for (dates) and he has no further need of treatment for XYZ years, nor any active symptoms". CUT and PASTE this for your doc, who will otherwise stumble. This letter has to survive FAA inspection, so if the guy short cuts this at all, and I mean by ONE WORD, go to a psych.

The AME will not be able to issue you, and you will have to send the documentation in. Please select an AME who will call on your file about 10 days after, or it will sit in the "to do bin" at FAA for about eighty days.

I kid you not.
If you go to a psych and he writes an essay on his letterhead, this is more likely to be approved on a phone call from the AME at time of the exam. Credentials matter. A little effort up front saves a LOT of waiting time after the AME visit.

Lastly I don't "hold out" here. But some AMEs (like me) will gather all the documents, fax them to an FAA examiner day of your exam, and get same-day approval.

Dr. Bruce
 
bbchien said:
Lastly I don't "hold out" here. But some AMEs (like me) will gather all the documents, fax them to an FAA examiner day of your exam, and get same-day approval.

Dr. Bruce
Click to expand...
If it were me I'd be going to see Dr Bruce with all the paperwork he specifies. (Which is exactly what I did on my last medical).
 
jesse said:
If it were me I'd be going to see Dr Bruce with all the paperwork he specifies. (Which is exactly what I did on my last medical).
Click to expand...

Yup. If you've got a complex situation, it's well worth the trip.

I just hope that someday down the road when I need an SI, that someone has filled Dr. Bruce's shoes. (I'm hoping I don't need an SI until after Bruce is long retired!)
 
Pretty discouraged...........I am on a somewhat limited flying budget, i had saved enough to get me most of the way through training but it looks like I may have to spent some of it jumping through the hoops....Im sure i'll feel better tomorrow. But a very sincere thank you to everyone who have replied and given advice. What I didnt put in the original post is that I have a third issue as well, not nearly as serious, but impossible to document. Perhaps it just isnt meant to be. We will see.

Thanks again!

Mike
 
Ok, well at least today I have a plan. I talked to my Doc, he said my diagnosis for my "spells" was acute dizziness caused by tinnitus. I called the local AME and we talked about my issues. Exactly as Dr. Bruce said, go see depression doc, verify that i have had no recurrences, write a letter to that fact and that I had reactive depression due to divorce. Get summary of test done by ent that said i was fine. The last issue I noted in the last post (I didnt include in the first post cause it wasnt "medical" in nature), but is very critical. in 1986 at the ripe old age of 19, I was aressted for dui. Charges were later dropped due to a kind judge. However, the court doesnt have the records of the disposition of the case. All records older than 1988 have been destroyed. However it does show the arrest on a background check. So the AME said to go get my own background check to attatch as well as my explaination. I sure hope this will pass muster. Its funny how things catch up to you. Stupid things you do as a kid, going through a divorce and going to the doctor cause you feel "funny"......Sorry for the long post.....for whatever reason i feel a little less disspirited when I post it here...go figure.

edit: Dr. Bruce, this is full, honest disclosure of all my concerns, based on this would you advise me to continue or stop training?

Mike
 
Last edited:
Go for it.


"Own your own medical".

Go to the psych. Get the letter.
Get your ENT records. Get his letter.
Get a State Driver's license search. Prove that was your one and only and that there are none since. The ONE DUI will not be an issue even if you can't get the records, that far back.

If you do not do this, in five years you will be 49 and not a bit closer. DO it.
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 365 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.
Back
Top