Just Prescribed Prozac -- Looking for Advice

[steingar]

This is total bull****. Prozac (spelled correctly) works. (If you can't spell it then you must not have much knowledge of it) It works for me I feel fine. Don't judge something you have never experienced. There is so much ignorance regarding treatment of depression and antidepressants. People are so quick to judge someone for a condition they have not experienced. The FAA's medical policy is a sad joke. They don't care if someone has to spend $8000 every two years to maintain a third class medical yet they don't even drug test pilots when they go for their medicals. People who are alcoholics/DWI get better treatment than people who take SSRI's. Try finding a psychiatrist who understands why the FAA wants tests and what should be in the evaluations. They set up all these expensive hoops to jump through yet they don't have the infrastructure in place to do these examinations. They don't require much of the AME's as far as continuing education. Some of them aren't even aware that SSRI's are "allowed". Now I know why many pilots just don't report their SSRI use. It's not worth all the hassle.
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I did not intend offense. You can read the study for yourself in the May 2002 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry (Vol. 159, #5). I was not interjecting my opinion into this at all, indeed I cast some doubt on the conclusions due to the difficulties in collecting subjective data. However, the study was published in an internationally recognized peer-reviewed journal.

I am glad it works for you, and sorry it is such a hassle for your flight operations. I have come out in this forum previously as strongly opposed to the third class medical for any amateur operations, and have seen no reason at all to change my opinion. Not that the FAA cares any.

 

[bbchien]

.....This is total bull****. Prozac (spelled correctly) works. (If you can't spell it then you must not have much knowledge of it) It works for me I feel fine. Don't judge something you have never experienced. There is so much ignorance regarding treatment of depression and antidepressants. People are so quick to judge someone for a condition they have not experienced. The FAA's medical policy is a sad joke. They don't care if someone has to spend $8000 every two years to maintain a third class medical yet they don't even drug test pilots when they go for their medicals. People who are alcoholics/DWI get better treatment than people who take SSRI's.

Alcoholics do HIMS psych/HIMS psychological evaluations after 6-8 months, intensive inpatient withdrawal for 4 weeks(locked in), 90/90 days AA meetings, weekly evals by the Masters-level counselor, Random urines for two years, and MIGHT be reinstated after 6-8 months on montoring if everything is going well. You have displayed you don't know s_uat. Try having a job, or a family with these obligations. Alcoholics have to WANT it.

Try finding a psychiatrist who understands why the FAA wants tests and what should be in the evaluations.

There is a published federal list for this.

They set up all these expensive hoops to jump through yet they don't have the infrastructure in place to do these examinations.

They sure do.

They don't require much of the AME's as far as continuing education. Some of them aren't even aware that SSRI's are "allowed".

Now for some education for you, there are only THREE conditions allowed (see page 13 of the attachment). They are not just "allowed", the way you seem to think.

Now I know why many pilots just don't report their SSRI use. It's not worth all the hassle.

It is much more expensive than I proposed back in 2006, granted, but the pathway is there provided the prozac is for depression, or dysthymia. It is not allowable for an anxiety disorder or a social disorder. And now you have given the justification as to why, if you lie on this one and it is found out, the Agency revokes your PILOT certificate.

Prozac, in the initial phase 2 trials has some serious cognitive profile difficulties that are hard to distinguish from the uses for which Prozac is given. But of the options proposed, it was one of the better ones and that is why it's on the list of four.

As for bad AMEs and continuing education, sign me, one of the four authors of the the current SSRI protocol (which is for only three conditions, anxiety is NOT ONE OF THEM). We go yearly. I did 3x as much CME just for the FAA, as is needed for a state license last year. The list of HIMS AMEs attached are all current, competent, dedicated, and know where the resources are (some are Expensive). You just have to be willing to seek one out.

I can't help you if you're still full of anger..... sorry.

 

[denverpilot]

Nice to see my AME on the list, not that I hope to ever need him for this particular purpose... but after reading Doc's postings about the extra work most of these Docs do over-and-above the typical AME "call of duty", it's nice to see him there.

I noted various interesting little anomalies in the distribution too... not just one, but two in Grand Junction, CO? There's nothing much based there pro-aviation-wise, so it surprised me a bit.

Of course, that could just be because they "retired" there, or something... but for a town with not that much going on pro-aviation-wise, I thought it was an interesting little statistical lumping...

Also, did I count right... only 33 States represented? Another interesting tidbit.

Arizona seems quite under-represented for the amount of pro-aviation and training going on there. That's all relative, of course, since there's plenty of States without someone altogether.

Nevada not having a single HIMS Doc, also raised an eyebrow. Home of Sin City, but not of an HIMS AME...? Very interesting.

Just fun looking over the list... I'm making no judgements on it.

 

[Ghery]

Nice to see my AME on the list, not that I hope to ever need him for this particular purpose... but after reading Doc's postings about the extra work most of these Docs do over-and-above the typical AME "call of duty", it's nice to see him there.

Mine, too. And I hope to never need him for this, as well.

 

[Unregistered]

Try finding a psychiatrist who understands why the FAA wants tests and what should be in the evaluations.

This does not apply only to Psychiatrists.

Doctors in all other specialties are baffled for the information the morons over at the FAA want.

 

[Unregistered]

I have a current third class medical and was just perscribed celexa. Can I just switch over to light sport. Is it that easy? Or do i need to wait for my current third class medical to lapse?

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

I have a current third class medical and was just perscribed celexa. Can I just switch over to light sport. Is it that easy? Or do i need to wait for my current third class medical to lapse?

Read 61.53 very carefully.