3rd Class Medical SSRI - Looking for piece of mind.

Stegoo_86

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Stego_86
Hello fellow aviators,

I've been on here a few times asking some questions and I feel that I have sorted most of this out. However, I'm still nervous about my meeting within my HIMS AME this coming week. Here is what's up:

I'm a PPL who passed and carried my medical 15 years ago. After all these years, I wasn't aware of a basic med and re-applied for my 3rd class. Now I'm in this pickle because I was diagnosed with GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and prescribed (by my own decision, not required by a doctor) an SSRI. I've been on this medication for about 2 years, not issues and I feel fine. I've received my recommendation letter from my physiatrist (who is board certified) and spoken to my HIMS AME during a consult. She said that this shouldn't be an issue, we just need to ensure we're sending everything the FAA is requesting.

I've reviewed the needed forms, confirmed that I do not meet any of the "rule-outs" and feel confident in my ability to be issued an SI. However, I have one snag...my childhood.

I don't know how to proceed with this. I grew up in an age where an active imagination or creative thought was deemed "ADHD" for a child. I was not diagnosed with ADHD but was issued multiple different medications that I cant even remember. It's been later confirmed that I was misdiagnosed and perspired when I shouldn't have been. I wasn't taking any medication when I first applied for my medical, hence why I passed. To make this more complex, both of my parents are deceased, so I have no way of knowing who these doctors were, or where these records may be. So, my question here is as follows:

Do I need to dive deep into my childhood and misdiagnoses?
Does my prior medical being approved hold any bearing on me being issued another one?

I understand that I need to be fully honest, and I'm not afraid to do that, however, I don't want to make things more complicated and open up a whole different can of worms that essentially doesn't reflect on who I am today.

Any personal feedback or opinions would be helpful. I do plan to come back after all of this to explain my experience and where I went wrong. (Wish me luck).
 
You say you weren't diagnosed with ADHD. It should go without saying that there's no need to disclose things you weren't diagnosed with. You then say you were "misdiagnosed." With what we're you misdiagnosed? Or do you mean misprescribed? Unless the FAA requested it in the letter you got, there's no requirement to disclose every medication you've ever been prescribed nor do any research. IMO, you should just give them what they've asked for.
 
Sorry about the confusion. I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD, but they did diagnose me, if I remember correctly, "Non-specified mood disorder." At least that's what I think it was, my brother is the only source of information I have about this. I was about 8 years old at the time. I believe I was medicated from 8 until maybe 12, and I remember there being different medications. As for what the FAA asks, it's kinda open for interpretation. It doesn't request anything from my childhood, but it does ask for me to provide a personal statement and "All treatment records" which I don't have. Also, my doctors do not want to provide my personal medical records if it can be avoided. It also requests a report and summary from a COG screen. I took this COG screen in 2017. That report does detail things from my childhood. So, I'm not sure if I should just take an updated COG test and leave this out...it's just a mess.
 
Sorry about the confusion. I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD, but they did diagnose me, if I remember correctly, "Non-specified mood disorder." At least that's what I think it was, my brother is the only source of information I have about this. I was about 8 years old at the time. I believe I was medicated from 8 until maybe 12, and I remember there being different medications. As for what the FAA asks, it's kinda open for interpretation. It doesn't request anything from my childhood, but it does ask for me to provide a personal statement and "All treatment records" which I don't have. Also, my doctors do not want to provide my personal medical records if it can be avoided. It also requests a report and summary from a COG screen. I took this COG screen in 2017. That report does detail things from my childhood. So, I'm not sure if I should just take an updated COG test and leave this out...it's just a mess.
Does it say, "All treatment records," or does it say, "All treatment records for [particular condition]"? Again, give them what they are asking for. If you're working with a HIMS AME, he should be able to tell you what to include. Same on the cogscreen. I have no knowledge of that, but according to folks here, the FAA has specific requirements, so likely you'll need to take a new one, but your HIMS AME should be able to answer that.
 
the HIMS psychiatrist will discover all ... and I mean all!

I figured as much, but that's what's concerning. They approved my medical before when I was 18. These events took place in the early and mid-'90s. I don't know who treated me, what I was treated for, and I don't recall what medicines I was on, what the dosage was, or how often I was on them before they switched it up. No idea who my primary care doctor was when I was a child, and my mother and father are both deceased. I would have been on my mother's insurance when I was a child. What I do know is that I had a cog exam again when I was 32, and the doctor clearly told me that I am not Bipolar or ADHD, that I have GAD. Her recommendation wasn't even for me to take medication, it was to continue counseling with my therapist. Obviously, I'll talk about all this with my HIMS AME, but I'm not attempting to go commercial, just stay a PPL. "shrugs"
 
Other question will be if the SSRI is one of the approved 3.

In terms of history, you can only get the records you can get. It does not sound like they will be as important as a current exam and evaluation.

More information available on my FAA medical information page at http://tinyurl.com/faaMedicalInfo.
 
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