On Zoloft... How soon till I can get Medical Certificate?

[PittsburgPilots]

I emailed Dr. Bruce... but thought I could get info here faster. I am on Zoloft, my medical record says I have resolved "Anxiety Problem". I am sure I can get a letter from my doctor saying I have been good for more than 6 months. I am fine, it was a "situational", but I do plan on staying on Zoloft. How long is it going to take me to get my Class III medical license? What is the fastest route?

 

[Matthew]

So, the situation for which Zoloft was prescribed is resolved, but you want to stay on Zoloft anyway?

 

[PaulS]

Wait for Dr. Bruce to respond to you, he doesn't respond here. I think you have some work to do, but you should really wait for the doc, then do what he says. You may not like the answers, but if there is a way he will find it.

 

[PittsburgPilots]

Wait for Dr. Bruce to respond to you, he doesn't respond here. I think you have some work to do, but you should really wait for the doc, then do what he says. You may not like the answers, but if there is a way he will find it.

From what I can figure out... there is a way, just can't tell how long its going to take!

What about the idea... What the FAA doesn't know it doesn't know... How REALISTICALLY could this come back to haunt me?

 

[PaulS]

From what I can figure out... there is a way, just can't tell how long its going to take!

What about the idea... What the FAA doesn't know it doesn't know... How REALISTICALLY could this come back to haunt me?

All your data is digitized and by applying you allow them to look. Could be big trouble for you, I wouldn't mess with it. You need to understand your options, LSA could work. Talk to Bruce when he get back.

 

[dans2992]

All your data is digitized and by applying you allow them to look. Could be big trouble for you, I wouldn't mess with it. You need to understand your options, LSA could work. Talk to Bruce when he get back.

Can anyone cite an instance of this actually happening, other than blood test after a fatal accident?

 

[Matthew]

From what I can figure out... there is a way, just can't tell how long its going to take!

What about the idea... What the FAA doesn't know it doesn't know... How REALISTICALLY could this come back to haunt me?

(I did see the post you deleted) Doc Bruce, or an AME like him, will have his hands full, and you will have some work to do.

As far as lying on your medical, that's up to you and your risk tolerance. Don't ask that question to Doc Bruce.

 

[flyingron]

You should be able to get issued but it takes an AME (like Bruce) who won't screw up the application.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

1) Don't even suggest the possibility of leaving this off your medical application if you are talking to an AME like Dr Chien.

2) If the situation is resolved, then the FAA will never approve you if you remain on Zoloft. There has to be a reason, and the circumstances where it is approved are very narrow.

3) Don't shoot yourself in the foot - based on what I have read above, you have already taken aim and have your finger on the trigger.

4) The fastest route is to stop taking Zoloft and start jumping through the necessary hoops. Months at best. Never at worst.

 

[poadeleted20]

I emailed Dr. Bruce... but thought I could get info here faster.

You might get information here faster, but it won't be nearly as reliable. Have patience (as long as you can do that without taking more meds).

 

[FlySince9]

I was on welbutrin ( i think that's how you spell it) Had to be off it for 6 months with 2 "how ya do'n" appointments with my primary before they issued me the certificate. The other option is psycho-analysis at the cost of a couple of "G's" with no guarantee you would be approved anyway... At least that's how it went for me 4 years ago...

 

[mrkbbd]

Highly unlikely you'll be able to get a medical while taking Zoloft - while it has been approved, it is case-by-case, SSRIs are generally viewed quite negatively by the FAA

 

[cowman]

Whatever you do, don't apply for your medical unless you can be certain it will get approved. You can fly light sport without one, but if you attempt to renew and get denied you can't fly at all.

There's a proposal in the works that might change things down the line so those of us flying typical 4 and 6 seaters won't need a medical either. If that does come to pass I sure wouldn't want to shoot myself in the foot.

 

[MikeELP]

You might get information here faster, but it won't be nearly as reliable. Have patience (as long as you can do that without taking more meds).

Be patient...work with Dr. Chien. And once you do, follow his instructions and follow them without question.

 

[comanchepilot]

why would you want to remain on a psychoactive drug that you don't need?

I guess thats the first question - everything else is procedure.

 

[Mrs. SixPapaCharlie]

4) The fastest route is to stop taking Zoloft and start jumping through the necessary hoops. Months at best. Never at worst.

Don't stop cold turkey. You have to wean off SSRIs, and you should do it under a doctor's care.


This is what I was told: You have to be on Zoloft for a year before they will consider approving your medical, or off of it for 6 months.

I'll share my story: I was on Zoloft, and I went in for my medical. I'd been on it for about 8 months, but was reducing my dose at the time, as I was feeling better. I didn't realize it would keep me from my medical, but my AME stated the recs above. I didn't get my medical, and a couple months later, the FAA mailed me the things I would need to do to try to get my medical while on Zoloft: psych eval, on the med a year, reports from doctor, etc.

I chose instead to wean off, as I did not need the medicine anymore. I was off it about a year before I tried again. I had to get my prescribing doctor to write a letter confirming that I had been off the medication for a year and that I was no longer exhibiting any symptoms.

They granted me my medical. I did receive paperwork from the FAA saying that they were allowing it because this was the only time I had been on an SSRI, and that, in the future, should I have any symptoms requiring an antidepressant, then I was to ground myself and let the FAA know. The letter sounds like, as long I keep feeling fine, I don't have to jump through any additional hoops in the future.

So that's me. This was February of this year that I got approved.

ETA: I will give another nod to Dr. Chien. I emailed him when I was attempting to try again for my medical. He replied in about 12 hours and was very helpful.

 

[poadeleted20]

Highly unlikely you'll be able to get a medical while taking Zoloft - while it has been approved, it is case-by-case, SSRIs are generally viewed quite negatively by the FAA

Zoloft is one of the four meds on the acceptable list, so approval is highly likely if you follow the FAA SSRI protocol and meet its requirements (which a good number of pilots have done -- ask Bruce about it). If you want to know whether it's likely you'll meet those requirements, ask Bruce, who helped write the protocol.

Wellbutrin (with 2 l's, mentioned but misspelled by someone else) is not, so approval while taking that is well-nigh impossible.

 

[mrkbbd]

Zoloft is one of the four meds on the acceptable list, so approval is highly likely if you follow the FAA SSRI protocol and meet its requirements (which a good number of pilots have done -- ask Bruce about it). If you want to know whether it's likely you'll meet those requirements, ask Bruce, who helped write the protocol.

Wellbutrin (with 2 l's, mentioned but misspelled by someone else) is not, so approval while taking that is well-nigh impossible.

Not entirely true - while it is on the "approved list" it is approved on a case-by-case basis and is rare to get the approval

 

[dans2992]

Curious - does having an SI medical work against you if you are, for example, a 121 pilot? Ie the airline holds it against you in the hiring process.

Maybe that would technically be discrimination, but does it happen often?

 

[JHW]

Curious - does having an SI medical work against you if you are, for example, a 121 pilot? Ie the airline holds it against you in the hiring process.

Maybe that would technically be discrimination, but does it happen often?

Every pilot you see wearing prescription eyeglasses has an SI

 

[azure]

Every pilot you see wearing prescription eyeglasses has an SI

Seriously? I thought even 1st class allowed corrective lenses, with a "must wear" limitation. I thought the only difference from 3rd class was the acuity standard (20/20 for 1st and 2nd, 20/40 for 3rd), but they allowed you to get to 20/20 by wearing glasses without requiring an SI.

 

[Henning]

From what I can figure out... there is a way, just can't tell how long its going to take!

What about the idea... What the FAA doesn't know it doesn't know... How REALISTICALLY could this come back to haunt me?

There is a way, but only in a very limited set of circumstances for mono polar depression. Unless you paid in cash, the FAA has access to the records. Could it bite you? Yes, seriously. It can cost you your ticket and disallow you getting a new one for 10 years since it's a felony to lie on the form.

 

[Matthew]

I hope the OP reports back with whatever Doc Bruce recommends. I think there are a lot of people who want to know but are afraid to ask.

 

[Henning]

Can anyone cite an instance of this actually happening, other than blood test after a fatal accident?

Yes, once they did a database comparison of people with a FAA medical and people on disability and busted a good few. You don't have to be the person in the accident, someone else doing the same thing can have the accident, someone gets a bee in their bonnet over it, and decides to run a database cross reference to see who else is doing the same thing. Since Obamacare put all of everybody's coded medical billing records into a government access database, unless you pay in cash under an assumed name, the chances of getting "outed" have grown significantly since then.

 

[Matthew]

Yes, once they did a database comparison of people with a FAA medical and people on disability and busted a good few. You don't have to be the person in the accident, someone else doing the same thing can have the accident, someone gets a bee in their bonnet over it, and decides to run a database cross reference to see who else is doing the same thing. Since Obamacare put all of everybody's coded medical billing records into a government access database, unless you pay in cash under an assumed name, the chances of getting "outed" have grown significantly since then.

I think FAA compared Social Security disability claims against their own medical database. I remember that a lot of pilots were busted, "Hmmm, it appears you are receiving SS disability benefits for xxx, but failed to note that on your medical...", but I can't remember if it stuck. Didn't FAA get in trouble for privacy issues on that one?

Regardless of the details of that case, it does show that FAA can find out - if FAA wants to.

 

[Henning]

I think FAA compared Social Security disability claims against their own medical database. I remember that a lot of pilots were busted, "Hmmm, it appears you are receiving SS disability benefits for xxx, but failed to note that on your medical...", but I can't remember if it stuck. Didn't FAA get in trouble for privacy issues on that one?

Regardless of the details of that case, it does show that FAA can find out - if FAA wants to.

One guy from what I heard got his ticket back. There is no privacy rule, you sign that off on the application. You give them the right to check your records.

 

[dans2992]

One guy from what I heard got his ticket back. There is no privacy rule, you sign that off on the application. You give them the right to check your records.

Yep, but other than this one infamous SS disability incident, I've never heard of another case of them trolling a database and busting people.

I'm thinking this is more of an "urban legend"...

 

[Matthew]

One guy from what I heard got his ticket back. There is no privacy rule, you sign that off on the application. You give them the right to check your records.

The privacy act statement on the medical gives FAA permission to search the National Driver Register for your driving history, one time.(item 20) There may be some other fine print I missed.

It may very well be that other forms you sign, like HIPAA, give government agencies permission to snoop. Pretty much assume that if you have ever signed anything, the gov can get to it.

edit: it DOES give FAA permission to share your info with other agencies, like NTSB, that will investigate an accident. If NSTB finds something, it will get back to FAA that way.

 

[Henning]

Yep, but other than this one infamous SS disability incident, I've never heard of another case of them trolling a database and busting people.

I'm thinking this is more of an "urban legend"...

How is it "urban legend" when it's already happened?

If you never draw attention to yourself, is it likely to ever get caught? Not currently no. What the future may bring is a completely different subject though.

Since the SS check, we have both incorporated the entire medical industry database access and Med Express. If it was the insurance industry handling this, every application filed would automatically be running this database check directly. Since the FAA exists in order to assure the safety of the insurance companies money, I suspect that this is not in the too distant future.

It's not a chance I'd be willing to take. There are still doctors around who will see you confidentially (or even anonymously) for cash.

 

[poadeleted20]

Not entirely true - while it is on the "approved list" it is approved on a case-by-case basis and is rare to get the approval

I think Bruce might disagree with you, at least when (as I said) one meets the requirements in the protocol. That said, I have no doubt a lot of people who don't meet the requirements apply anyway and are properly denied.

 

[poadeleted20]

Every pilot you see wearing prescription eyeglasses has an SI

Not for a long time for First/Second Class, and never for Third Class. I remember getting a SODA for sub-20/20 eyesight correctable to 20/20 for my Second Class medical back in 1972 when you had to have the level of medical necessary to exercise the privileges in order to get a higher level pilot certificate initially, but that was dropped -- in the 1997 Part 61 rewrite, IIRC.

 

[dans2992]

I was thinking an airline might see an SI for an SSRI, and think "we're not hiring a pilot with mental issues"... Next candidate please..

 

[JHW]

Not for a long time for First/Second Class, and never for Third Class. I remember getting a SODA for sub-20/20 eyesight correctable to 20/20 for my Second Class medical back in 1972 when you had to have the level of medical necessary to exercise the privileges in order to get a higher level pilot certificate initially, but that was dropped -- in the 1997 Part 61 rewrite, IIRC.

interesting. I guess the AME I had before bruce just liked to do paperwork, because he have me a SI form to carry around with every class2 I got. Come to think of it though, bruce has never given me one of those.

 

[poadeleted20]

interesting. I guess the AME I had before bruce just liked to do paperwork, because he have me a SI form to carry around with every class2 I got. Come to think of it though, bruce has never given me one of those.

Unless that was 20 years ago or more, that AME was not up to date on the rules.

Sec. 67.103

Eye.

Eye standards for a first-class airman medical certificate are:
(a) Distant visual acuity of 20/20 or better in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses. If corrective lenses (spectacles or contact lenses) are necessary for 20/20 vision, the person may be eligible only on the condition that corrective lenses are worn while exercising the privileges of an airman certificate.

Of course, that last sentence will result in a limitation saying "Holder must wear corrective lenses", but that's just a limitation, not a Special Issuance.