Medication as a teen

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Pilotmama

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My 13 year old dreams of becoming a commercial pilot. He has ADHD. He is currently on very low doses of concerta, Prozac, and Abilify. The Abilify is for emotional regulation and he is going to be weaned off.

What does this mean for his aspirations? Does the short stint (less than year) on Abilify prevent him from becoming a commercial pilot?

If he wants to attend a college program like asu to obtain aviation degree, does he need to stop medication soon to get the 4 years of no meds?
 
It means he has a massive effort ahead of him if it is ever possible.

There is no path to becoming a pilot while taking Concerta or other ADHD drugs at all.
There is no path to certification taking multiple psychoactive drugs.
An ADHD diagnosis, coupled with other psychiatric issues, closes many pathways.

Four years off (even if he can tolerate it) will NOT get him to certification on its own.

First, he needs to get healthy in his own right. Then he can sit down with a good HIMS AME prior to commencing an application to see the details of what he is up against.
 
Pilotmama said:
My 13 year old dreams of becoming a commercial pilot. He has ADHD. He is currently on very low doses of concerta, Prozac, and Abilify. The Abilify is for emotional regulation and he is going to be weaned off.

What does this mean for his aspirations? Does the short stint (less than year) on Abilify prevent him from becoming a commercial pilot?

If he wants to attend a college program like asu to obtain aviation degree, does he need to stop medication soon to get the 4 years of no meds?
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Yes, to qualify for the FAA's ADHD "fast track," he would have to be off medication for four years. But he also has to be symptom free for those four years. And he would still need an evaluation from a neuropsychologist or psychologist.

if your son stopped all medication today, would a psychologist say that he has no symptoms of ADHD? If not, then the current prospects are not good.
 
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and would a psychiatrist say he had not had "Major depressive disorder" for which there is no fast track and for which more than 5 years' duration = recurrent disease? (There is no fast track for disease with "recurrency").
 
Pilotmama said:
What does this mean for his aspirations? Does the short stint (less than year) on Abilify prevent him from becoming a commercial pilot?

If he wants to attend a college program like asu to obtain aviation degree, does he need to stop medication soon to get the 4 years of no meds?
Click to expand...

There's a common misconception that the barrier is just the medications. It's not. The meds are prescribed to treat a diagnosed condition, and conditions such as ADHD and major depressive disorder are disqualifying. Simply stopping the meds doesn't get rid of the condition; it just means the condition is now untreated, which is even worse.

The path forward requires a new diagnosis, proving that the previous diagnosis was either incorrect or that the conditions no longer exist. Doing so typically requires lots of money and several years, and there's no guarantee of success. Furthermore, there's no guarantee that an employer will hire a pilot with that medical history even if the FAA eventually grants a medical certificate.

I know this is difficult to hear, especially for a 13-year-old, but the reality is that the FAA is in the aviation safety business, NOT the dream fulfillment business. Not everyone's dream of flying can come true.

OTOH, there are many careers in aviation besides being a commercial pilot. And there are ways to become a non-commercial pilot and fly for fun or personal business without a medical. For example, a Sport Pilot license requires only a driver's license in lieu of a medical certificate and allows flying small, light aircraft with a single passenger in daytime VFR conditions. BEWARE - if your son applies for an FAA medical and is denied (which seems almost certain), he will become ineligible for Sport Pilot.
 
And having a nephew who was just put on Abilify, that’s a no-joke drug. It’s not to treat anything minor
 
Pilot Mama: just thank God your child is being treated and monitored. Hidden mental health disorders can manifest after the child grows up and moves out, away from your ability to observe and help, sometimes with catastrophic results.
 
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