Past Wellbutrin Use

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Hello, I'm a 47yo male and I mentioned to my doc about 2 years ago that I seemed to be not quite like my "old self." Tired, unmotivated, etc. He ordered several blood tests, including testosterone, and all came back normal. He suggested Wellbutrin as an option, and I took him up on it. I was on it for roughly 18 months and finished titration off of it about 30 days ago. I feel perfectly fine--better actually, now that the medicine isn't keeping me awake at night.

I haven't flown in years and would like to get back into the cockpit, but I would like to know ahead of time what kind of hassle applying for a Class III is going to be with my new history of "depression" (albeit extremely mild).

Many thanks!
 
IF YOU HAVE ONLY HAD ONE episode, then the following works: (ifnot you need a psychiatrist's 4 axis eval)....

>60 days of all meds, documented in the record by the Rxing doc.

Revisit the doc, he needs to write that you have no symptoms, are doing well, and that there is nothing left to treat. the underlying diagnosis HAS TO BE REACTIVE depression, not anxiety.

This will get you a one year SI.
Then in 12 months you go back and get another similar letter. that one gets you back in the regular issuance pool.

Caution: I just went through this with a guy who had three episodes but didn't disclose the other two to me. BUSTED.
 
Unregistered said:
How was he busted?
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Bruce and the other doc's have shared before that the FAA will and does review all of the various medical record databases, including prescriptions.

So the busted pilot might have been found out when the FAA's QA process kicked out that an airman with identifying # XXX (like SSN) matched up with prescription records that had the same number associated.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Bruce and the other doc's have shared before that the FAA will and does review all of the various medical record databases, including prescriptions.

So the busted pilot might have been found out when the FAA's QA process kicked out that an airman with identifying # XXX (like SSN) matched up with prescription records that had the same number associated.
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How is it possible/legal for someone's personal medical information to be readily available for someone to view?
 
Unregistered said:
How is it possible/legal for someone's personal medical information to be readily available for someone to view?
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It's not. But the diagnosis codes and the procedure and pharmacy codes were given away as defined to "not be a part of the medical record" in the healthcare act of 2012.

Many of us tried to warn the public that we were giving away any semblance of privacy in exchange for "promised cheap". Well, we gave it away. Whether or not we get "cheap" remains to be seen.

EPIC and McKesson have huge databases....
 
bbchien said:
It's not. But the diagnosis codes and the procedure and pharmacy codes were given away as defined to "not be a part of the medical record" in the healthcare act of 2012.

Many of us tried to warn the public that we were giving away any semblance of privacy in exchange for "promised cheap". Well, we gave it away. Whether or not we get "cheap" remains to be seen.

EPIC and McKesson have huge databases....
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Luckily there are still Doctors who will treat you as 'John Smith' and pharmacies that fill the scripts, all for cash money.
 
Henning said:
Luckily there are still Doctors who will treat you as 'John Smith' and pharmacies that fill the scripts, all for cash money.
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Ron Levy said:
...until they get caught.
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Probably less of a chance if they are not dealing in controlled substances. In a few years all prescriptions will be electronic. I suspect that hand written scripts will be scanned into the system so they too will be within the government's reach.
 
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Computers make everything better.

Anyone else see the electronic record-keeping backlash coming? ;)
 
bbchien said:
It's not. But the diagnosis codes and the procedure and pharmacy codes were given away as defined to "not be a part of the medical record" in the healthcare act of 2012.

Many of us tried to warn the public that we were giving away any semblance of privacy in exchange for "promised cheap". Well, we gave it away. Whether or not we get "cheap" remains to be seen.

EPIC and McKesson have huge databases....
Click to expand...

Doc is it possible for the public to check these databases to see what records are there that could be used? It might be useful to see what is there before you ever attempt go to get your medical.
 
bbchien said:
It's not. But the diagnosis codes and the procedure and pharmacy codes were given away as defined to "not be a part of the medical record" in the healthcare act of 2012.

Many of us tried to warn the public that we were giving away any semblance of privacy in exchange for "promised cheap". Well, we gave it away. Whether or not we get "cheap" remains to be seen.

EPIC and McKesson have huge databases....
Click to expand...

interesting, I thought this only applied if a person has insurance through one of the exchanges and not private insurance.
 
Unregistered said:
How is it possible/legal for someone's personal medical information to be readily available for someone to view?
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Is there a way that a person, a mortal citizen, can get a record of all available medical records on him/herself, much as one can from the three credit reporting agencies? IE see what the Feds / Law enforcement would see?

This would A) be only fair - like a Freedom of Medical information request on yourself, and perhaps enable folks to get ahead of stuff that might be of a concern for Medical / FAA stuff and other reasons.

I hope that this info might be accessible to the person who caused it to be recorded!
 
archerdriver said:
Is there a way that a person, a mortal citizen, can get a record of all available medical records on him/herself, much as one can from the three credit reporting agencies? IE see what the Feds / Law enforcement would see?

This would A) be only fair - like a Freedom of Medical information request on yourself, and perhaps enable folks to get ahead of stuff that might be of a concern for Medical / FAA stuff and other reasons.

I hope that this info might be accessible to the person who caused it to be recorded!
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Many medical records are destroyed after a period of time, typically 5 to 10 years but that may vary by state. This was necessary in the old days when all records were stored on bulky physical media including paper, film, VCR tapes etc and there was limited storage space. Now that records are digital I expect that they might be kept indefinitely.

If you want copies of your records you will probably need to go to each provider or medical practice and request your records. Some practices will not release them to an individual and require that they be sent to another licensed provider. If that is the case find somebody who will give you a copy of records received from the other guys. You might be charged for the cost of making any copies.
 
I am interested in this also "Is there a way that a person, a mortal citizen, can get a record of all available medical records on him/herself, much as one can from the three credit reporting agencies? IE see what the Feds / Law enforcement would see?"
I requested my information from MIB, came back with nothing. I have insurance, I'm sure I have previous diagnostic codes, what they are is beyond me. How do I get this information? From my insurance company?
 
bbchien said:
EPIC and McKesson have huge databases....
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Just one important point of clarification here so people don't get worried for no reason: While I can't speak to how McKesson operates, I can assure you that Epic has no "huge database" on patients. Organizations that use Epic maintain their own databases and follow their own policies regarding release of information. I'd be quite surprised if McKesson or any of the other large EHR vendors worked any differently.

I am by no means an expert, but have 15 years in healthcare, with the past 7 being intimately involved with electronic health records companies.
 
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FAA has NO difficulty at all getting the diagnosis codes, procedure codes, and pharmacy codes. Remember, they are GOVERNMENTAL and HIPAA applies to tell us who CANNOT have your information. It tells us that governmental bodies GET the information.

I had one in which the examiners called be back 6 minutes after giving approval. They ARE getting the information.
 
I'd like to interrogate the same database or databases the FAA is getting their information from for my own personal benefit. I have nothing to hide, I'm a old man and don't remember what happened to me yesterday, let alone 10+ years ago. And I would like to be given the chance to correct any bad data.
 
JazzBass said:
I'd like to interrogate the same database or databases the FAA is getting their information from for my own personal benefit. I have nothing to hide, I'm a old man and don't remember what happened to me yesterday, let alone 10+ years ago. And I would like to be given the chance to correct any bad data.
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Meh, so long as you remember where to poop, you'll be fine....;)
 
bbchien said:
FAA has NO difficulty at all getting the diagnosis codes, procedure codes, and pharmacy codes. Remember, they are GOVERNMENTAL and HIPAA applies to tell us who CANNOT have your information. It tells us that governmental bodies GET the information.

I had one in which the examiners called be back 6 minutes after giving approval. They ARE getting the information.
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If this is the case then why the need for a questionnaire?
 
That questionnaire has been around longer than the computer databases. Also it's rope with which to hang yourself. The FAA is good at giving you plenty of rope.
 
McKesson is making quite a good living making them more and more accessible to government every day. Amongst others.
 
denverpilot said:
McKesson is making quite a good living making them more and more accessible to government every day. Amongst others.
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And Obamacare will require electronic medical records

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