On Low-Dosage Wellbutrin - Can I Get a Class 3 Medical?

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kaladin

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I've been prescribed 150mg of Wellbutrin, the lowest dose given, for around two years now, and it's been fairly life-changing. I was very stable before being prescribed the medication, mind you - no suicidal tendencies or anything related - but it has been great in treating a mild-grade depression that runs in my family. I certainly have no intention of getting off of it anytime soon.

That said, it's been a dream of mine to get a PPL for years, but information on the FAA's tolerance of Wellbutrin has been, well, lacking. Let me make this clear: I know I'm mentally stable, I know I'd be a great pilot, and I know my past mental health issues wouldn't remotely be a problem, Wellbutrin or otherwise. I just need the best way forward to convince the FAA of this, if it's even possible.

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
Your honest disclosure on the medical application will result in a deferral and then a denial. The funny thing about Wellbutrin is that if you were a military aviator you would be allowed to take it and gain a medical to fly in the military. Unfortunately the faa will never allow you to get a medical if you continue to take Wellbutrin. If you decide to stop the Wellbutrin or if you can switch to one of the faa approved medications then you have a path to gain a medical certificate. The other options are to get your sport pilots license which requires no medical.
 
flyingron said:
JStone gave the right answer. Wellbutrin is not approved. If he takes exactly one of
  • Fluoxetine (Prozac)
  • Sertraline (Zoloft)
  • Citalopram (Celexa)
  • Escitalopram (Lexapro)
and has been on it alone and at a constant dosage for six months, the SSRI SI is potentially available.

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_or...process/exam_tech/item47/amd/antidepressants/
Click to expand...


Kalidin, is it worth having a discussion with your doc about making a change? Health first, obviously, but maybe there's a path that will maintain your health and allow you to get your ticket!

Also, if you're serious about getting your medical, you might considering hiring Dr. Bruce Chien (www.aeromedicaldoc.com) and following his advice to the letter. If anyone can help you navigate the FAA's aeromedical system, It's Dr. Bruce!
 
Funny thing about Wellbutrin compared to other antidepressants is that it has other indications aside from psychiatric ones.
1) tobacco cessation -zyban is just Wellbutrin.
2) Weight loss - Wellbutrin is main ingredient in new weight loss med contrave that is rather effective.
I get it that FAA doesn’t want depressed ppl flying, totally makes sense. But some of these meds, Wellbutrin is best example-have many other non-psychiatric uses. i think a lot of their medical policies are based on less then 1% possibility of badness. If you look at the overwhelming majority of bad things Happening in the air- it’s poor ADM
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Two words: Sport Pilot.
Click to expand...

Not everyone wants to limit themselves.

Kaladin, I have a friend who dropped Wellbutin for an approved SSRI and is now back flying. I personally have an SI for another psychiatric condition that two AME's said would never be waivered. You don't have to settle for sport pilot as long as you go in knowing the odds might not be in your favor.
 
kaladin said:
I've been prescribed 150mg of Wellbutrin, the lowest dose given, for around two years now, and it's been fairly life-changing. I was very stable before being prescribed the medication, mind you - no suicidal tendencies or anything related - but it has been great in treating a mild-grade depression that runs in my family. I certainly have no intention of getting off of it anytime soon.

That said, it's been a dream of mine to get a PPL for years, but information on the FAA's tolerance of Wellbutrin has been, well, lacking. Let me make this clear: I know I'm mentally stable, I know I'd be a great pilot, and I know my past mental health issues wouldn't remotely be a problem, Wellbutrin or otherwise.
Click to expand...
Just how is it possible that you know all that? And how would it be possible that FAA could know all that?
I just need the best way forward to convince the FAA of this, if it's even possible. Thanks in advance for your help!
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Hey no kiddin.

Wellbutrin has such a terrible neurocognitive profile we could not petition for it to be certifiable.
And you can't possibily know when your neuro-cognition isn't top drawer. It's just like a traumatic brain injury: "I'm fine" but it isn't so.
That's why it's prohibited.
 
benyflyguy said:
Funny thing about Wellbutrin compared to other antidepressants is that it has other indications aside from psychiatric ones.
1) tobacco cessation -zyban is just Wellbutrin.
2) Weight loss - Wellbutrin is main ingredient in new weight loss med contrave that is rather effective.
I get it that FAA doesn’t want depressed ppl flying, totally makes sense. But some of these meds, Wellbutrin is best example-have many other non-psychiatric uses. i think a lot of their medical policies are based on less then 1% possibility of badness. If you look at the overwhelming majority of bad things Happening in the air- it’s poor ADM
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I know more than a few pilots that used Wellbutrin to quit smoking without disclosing it to the FAA. It’s really ****ty to be in a spot where you have to decide between keeping your job by lying on a federal form or by slowly committing suicide by continuing to smoke cigarettes. Only the government could come up with such a scenario and say it was for safety.
 
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Incorrect. For smoking cessation, if you are using wellbutrin, you self ground until the med is done. Bring a letter to your next medical with evidence that (1) it was for smoking - as in a letter from the doc (2) Bring evidence that the Rx was terminated more than 90 days ago (3) receive issuance in the office.

In smoking withdrawal you don't want to be flying anyway. "Oh did I bite that guy's head off?" "Oh, I'm so sorry...."
 
bbchien said:
Incorrect. For smoking cessation, if you are using wellbutrin, you self ground until the med is done. Bring a letter to your next medical with evidence that (1) it was for smoking - as in a letter from the doc (2) Bring evidence that the Rx was terminated more than 90 days ago (3) receive issuance in the office.

In smoking withdrawal you don't want to be flying anyway. "Oh did I bite that guy's head off?" "Oh, I'm so sorry...."
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Oh how progressive. I can not have a job for 90 days instead of forever. Headed in the right direction.
 
One of my bosses years ago was trying to quit smoking. He suffered some transient cognition issues from the withdrawal (as he said, not smoking makes him stupid). Yeah, even without the wellbutrin, you probably should be careful.
 
Alright, so from Dr. Chien and everyone else's responses, it's clear to me that my chances of flying while staying on Wellbutrin are essentially nil. That's good to know, thank you all.

The obvious follow-up question is where do I go from here? Is it possible to switch to one of the pre-approved SSRIs for an amount of time and get an approval? Do I need to get off the meds completely? Or does the fact that the Wellbutrin prescription is on my medical history eliminate myself indefinitely?
 
kaladin said:
The obvious follow-up question is where do I go from here? Is it possible to switch to one of the pre-approved SSRIs for an amount of time and get an approval? Do I need to get off the meds completely? Or does the fact that the Wellbutrin prescription is on my medical history eliminate myself indefinitely?
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You should hire Dr. Bruce and follow his instructions to the letter. Obviously your health comes first, but if there are options he'll know what they are and give you the information you need to have a conversation with your primary care doc. Then Dr. Bruce can guide you through the FAA aeromedical process.
 
I have first hand experience with the side effects of Wellbutrin .... scared the crap out of me.

My mental health has always been good but when they came out with Zyban as a quit-smoking aid I got a prescription ..... nobody (doctors or pharmacists) told me it was the anti-depressant Wellbutrin.

Zyban came about because cigarette smokers on Wellbutrin found they no longer enjoyed smoking .... cigarettes began to taste awful so they quit smoking .... this was seen as a positive result by both the patients and doctors.

So the drug manufacturers re-labeled Wellbutrin as Zyban and did a huge marketing campaign which caught my attention so I tried it . Worked as advertised , I was happy , after about a month I hardly smoked at all . I was a life long confirmed smoker who had tried everything but could never quit . Zyban was like a dream come true for me.

However I began having moments of sudden rage and anger .... like I wanted to kill someone , very frightening because I am a man who has never lost his temper or truly been angry at anything ... this was completely out of character ... and it was happening at a very peaceful time for me .... had 3 months off to sit by the fireplace ... not a worry in the world .

I read the fine print and then went into medical literature on the internet (this was about 20 years ago) .... sure enough , about 1 in 10 people may experience
---- substantial mood swings
---- anger and thoughts of suicide
---- a manic episode--racing thoughts, increased energy, reckless behavior, feeling extremely happy or irritable,

I discontinued the Zyban and have never experienced those issues again . On a side note , when he was President , Bill Clinton quietly commissioned a professional doctor and researcher to go around the country and try to determine why children were bringing assault rifles to school , killing classmates and teachers , then killing themselves . Clinton wanted to know the root cause , whether it be poverty or broken homes or whatever ... she (the researcher) found one common denominator ... all were on some type of anti-depressant medication ... her next logical conclusion was they had underlying mental health issues .... but no ... they were simply over-active boys (normal) and parents during that era were putting their kids on medication to tame them down a bit.

The report was not made public because worries that the 9 out of 10 who did not have those side effects would stop taking their medication . Stuff you never hear on the nightly news. Big pharma spends billions of dollars advertising in the media ... wouldn't want to harm that now would we.

Sorry for the long rant and apologies to kaladin who started this thread .... I did not answer your question but I wish you the best and I hope you are able to become a pilot
 
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