Question re: Effexor

[Unregistered]

Greetings! I was told THIS was THE place to get the finest expertise in all things medical-related, specifically referencing Dr. Bruce. So here goes:

I am pursuing a lifelong dream of flying, having fond memories of many flights with my Dad as a little girl. I am now fulfilling that dream and loving every minute of it!

I ran into a snag when I went for my flight physical and was denied due to an Effexor prescription (18.5 mg / day) originally prescribed to smooth out symptoms of menopause. The AME I visited said if my Dr. concurred I could cease the medication and reapply after 60 days, assuming I had no problems living without it. Well, I am coming up on the 60 days next week and there has been no return of any of the symptoms that led to the original prescription, so I am looking forward to reapplying as soon as possible.

Is there any particular verbiage I need from my regular Dr. to help expedite the issuance of my medical? Is this something the AME can do or must it go through OKC? Is there anything I can do to expedite that process? I'm very near soloing and am anxious to move forward with my training.

Any help will be great appreciated. Thanks in advance for your expertise.

-A Mature Flygirl!

 

[iflyforfun]

Greetings! I was told THIS was THE place to get the finest expertise in all things medical-related, specifically referencing Dr. Bruce. So here goes:

I am pursuing a lifelong dream of flying, having fond memories of many flights with my Dad as a little girl. I am now fulfilling that dream and loving every minute of it!

...

-A Mature Flygirl!

Good luck and hope this works out for you. Love to see more women in aviation ... my daughter needs some more mentors

 

[bbchien]

The letter you need is:

FROM THE Rxing doc:

"Effexor was prescribed for vasomotor instability syndrome of Menopause.
She has been off 60 days with no adverse effects.
There were no underlying psychiatric diagnoses."

That, and a phone call by the AME to an EXAMINER (not just to the call center) at OKC will result in a one year SI certificate, and eventually an authorization letter.

In one year, you'll have to send another letter saying the same thing, just substitute 426 for the number of days, and it'll need a date of late May 2014.

There is another poster here who is caught in the federal tale of Woe at the agency- his letter for a similar situation was sent in 6 weeks ago and he has heard NOTHING. His local AME is not a advocate type, and apparently isn't interested in calling, so this poor fellow remains in the log jam.

A second AME is not permitted to intervene. Only the "AME of Record".

So when you go this time, make certain the AME is the sort of person who will make the call, and sit waiting for the callback. Or in one year,s dollars to donuts you'll be in the same position as the other poster; and in addition if he does not call but defers the issuance, you'll be sitting about 80 days before you hear anything.

In the current FAA crisis, born from the migration of system from the FAA computer to a commercial server, Good AMEs can really ake the system GO. But a "do the exam send it in" kind of AME is just a meatball.

 

[Unregistered]

The letter you need is:

FROM THE Rxing doc:

"Effexor was prescribed for vasomotor instability syndrome of Menopause.
She has been off 60 days with no adverse effects.
There were no underlying psychiatric diagnoses."

That, and a phone call by the AME to an EXAMINER (not just to the call center) at OKC will result in a one year SI certificate, and eventually an authorization letter.

In one year, you'll have to send another letter saying the same thing, just substitute 426 for the number of days, and it'll need a date of late May 2014.

There is another poster here who is caught in the federal tale of Woe at the agency- his letter for a similar situation was sent in 6 weeks ago and he has heard NOTHING. His local AME is not a advocate type, and apparently isn't interested in calling, so this poor fellow remains in the log jam.

A second AME is not permitted to intervene. Only the "AME of Record".

So when you go this time, make certain the AME is the sort of person who will make the call, and sit waiting for the callback. Or in one year,s dollars to donuts you'll be in the same position as the other poster; and in addition if he does not call but defers the issuance, you'll be sitting about 80 days before you hear anything.

In the current FAA crisis, born from the migration of system from the FAA computer to a commercial server, Good AMEs can really ake the system GO. But a "do the exam send it in" kind of AME is just a meatball.

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide your expertise so quickly. I will follow your advice to the letter, and let you know how it goes.

-Mature Flygirl

 

[Unregistered]

Good luck and hope this works out for you. Love to see more women in aviation ... my daughter needs some more mentors

Thank you! I hope your daughter catches the bug and pursues a passion for flying.

-Mature Flygirl

 

[LDJones]

Thanks, again, for being an invaluable resource here, Dr. Bruce. It is appreciated more than you'll ever know.

 

[DaytonaLynn]

+ 1for appreciation of Bruce

 

[tangopapa]

Another +1 for Dr. Bruce. We're very lucky to have him chime in and provide advice here.

 

[Ghery]

Bruce is the man. No question about it. I hope the OP has a good AME working for her. No idea where she is located, but in the future, if anywhere near Peoria, I know where I'd go. Fortunately, my AME isn't adverse to picking up the phone, either.

 

[comanchepilot]

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide your expertise so quickly. I will follow your advice to the letter, and let you know how it goes.

-Mature Flygirl

good luck finding an AME willing to make the phone call . . .