SSRIs and deferral timeline?

PeterNSteinmetz said:
Post #72 above has the URL for Dr. Chien. Here’s the URL for Dr. Fowler - http://flightphysical.com/dr-fowler.

You can also PM them here as members but I think their contact pages work better.
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PeterNSteinmetz said:
Post #72 above has the URL for Dr. Chien. Here’ URL for Dr. Fowler - http://flightphysical.com/dr-fowler.

You can also PM them here as members but I think their contact pages work better.
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Thank you Peter, I will be reaching out to Dr Chien today
 
So here's the thing I'm applying for a class 3 medical for my ppl and I've already submitted my FAA medical application. Back in April I took zoloft because of covid and my senior plans were canceled and I had situational depression at the time. I was prescribed zoloft but I only took one pill for one day and then I refrained from taking it for well over 60 days and even today I dont take it anymore. I said all of that on my application but I'm worried I'll be disqualified. Will this ground me from obtaining a class 3 medical?
 
You need a report from the prescribing doctor that you're off the drugs and stable. With that an AME should be able to issue. You may wish to verify that with a pre-application consultation.

Frankly you need to be wary of any doctor who will prescribe psychoactive drugs for something transient with the stab in the dark of "try this and see if you feel better."
 
flyingron said:
You need a report from the prescribing doctor that you're off the drugs and stable. With that an AME should be able to issue. You may wish to verify that with a pre-application consultation.

Frankly you need to be wary of any doctor who will prescribe psychoactive drugs for something transient with the stab in the dark of "try this and see if you feel better."
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So if I have a report in hand saying that I'm off of the zoloft and I've been stable then I should be able to get my certificate?
 
GoldenHero92 said:
So if I have a report in hand saying that I'm off of the zoloft and I've been stable then I should be able to get my certificate?
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Some more details needed here. First - did you give the confirmation number of the FAA application to an AME or their office staff?

If not - STOP - do not proceed with this application until you have consulted with an AME and they confirm that they can issue you in the office based on the available information in hand. (If not, this application form will die a quiet death in the system in several months and that is an option you may wish to exercise depending on the details.)

See http://tinyurl.com/ame-consult for how to do a consult.

People do not realize that the present day FAA medical process is a minefield of snafus and gotchas which can either cost you thousands of dollars and years of delays or even prevent you from flying other types of aircraft in the future.

Proceed with caution under the advice of a knowledgeable AME.
 
PeterNSteinmetz said:
Some more details needed here. First - did you give the confirmation number of the FAA application to an AME or their office staff?

If not - STOP - do not proceed with this application until you have consulted with an AME and they confirm that they can issue you in the office based on the available information in hand. (If not, this application form will die a quiet death in the system in several months and that is an option you may wish to exercise depending on the details.)

See http://tinyurl.com/ame-consult for how to do a consult.

People do not realize that the present day FAA medical process is a minefield of snafus and gotchas which can either cost you thousands of dollars and years of delays or even prevent you from flying other types of aircraft in the future.

Proceed with caution under the advice of a knowledgeable AME.
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No I haven't been to my physical yet and I haven't given my confirmation number. Now that you mentioned all of that I'm gonna my local AME and ask them if they can issue my certificate with the information that I have and if not what documents I need. I'm really hoping that the AME can just issue me the certificate because I literally took one pill of zoloft and I stopped taking it because I thought that it could affect my aspirations to be a pilot
 
GoldenHero92 said:
No I haven't been to my physical yet and I haven't given my confirmation number. Now that you mentioned all of that I'm gonna my local AME and ask them if they can issue my certificate with the information that I have and if not what documents I need. I'm really hoping that the AME can just issue me the certificate because I literally took one pill of zoloft and I stopped taking it because I thought that it could affect my aspirations to be a pilot
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Best to put these issues with SSRIs in the hands on HIMS AMEs, not just any AME. They can seriously mess it up. Do NOT under any circumstances give the staff or the AME the form with the confirmation number or the number before they do the consult.

Once they enter that number into the computer system to look at your application, it goes “live” per the FAA. Once that happens, you will either be issued or denied eventually, and the latter will end some other options to fly (or at least make them vastly more difficult and expensive).

The instructions at the link talk about how to do the consult and the need for it. Good luck, I hope it works out well for you. My suspicion is that since the prescription was written, you will need to follow SSRI pathway 1, which may involve more waiting with stability documented off the med (https://www.faa.gov/about/office_or...am/ame/guide/media/ssri decision path - i.pdf). It looks from your earlier post that you have the 60 day wait, but the language in the letters needs to be correct.
 
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PeterNSteinmetz said:
Best to put these issues with SSRIs in the hands on HIMS AMEs, not just any AME. They can seriously mess it up. Do NOT under any circumstances give the staff or the AME the form with the confirmation number or the number before they do the consult.

Once they enter that number into the computer system to look at your application, it goes “live” per the FAA. Once that happens, you will either be issued or denied eventually, and the latter will end some other options to fly (or at least make them vastly more difficult and expensive).

The instructions at the link talk about how to do the consult and the need for it. Good luck, I hope it works out well for you. My suspicion is that since the prescription was written, you will need to follow SSRI pathway 1, which may involve more waiting with stability documented off the med (https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/ame/guide/media/ssri decision path - i.pdf). It looks from your earlier post that you have the 60 day wait, but the language in the letters needs to be correct.
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I can't imagine it would be that much over just one pill and I technically didn't have situational depression it was just symptoms and they gave me the zoloft just to try it out. I only took one pill and I haven't had a single one after that for 90 days. I had no negative effects nor any suicidal thoughts. I hope that my AME can issue me the certificate. I'm going this Tuesday with my father to have a consultation but I'm definitely not giving up the confirmation number until I can have the issued certificate
 
Sadly I think flyingron is right. If you are honest about the meds on the Medxpress, then I believe it’s a deferral. You see there has to have been some sort of diagnosis code written in your chart for the dr to even prescribe the rx. What is that diagnosis (accurate diagnosis or not)?
 
RussS said:
Sadly I think flyingron is right. If you are honest about the meds on the Medxpress, then I believe it’s a deferral. You see there has to have been some sort of diagnosis code written in your chart for the dr to even prescribe the rx. What is that diagnosis (accurate diagnosis or not)?
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I wasn't officially diagnosed by the doctor I just told her that I wouldn't get out of bed until like 2 in the afternoon and I felt lonely not being able to see my friends when school closed at the time of the pandemic. I didn't have any suicidal thoughts or thoughts to hurt myself or anyone. They told me that I can try taking it just to see how it goes for me and I only took one pill of it. I was applying for a flight training scholarship and I thought that it would disqualify me from that so I decided to just stop it ultimately. Ever since I stopped I felt better because I was able to get a job, successfully graduate high school, and enroll in college and in an AFROTC detachment. Basically I found motivation to move on from my foiled senior plans into doing something that I actually had a choice and a passion to do in my life. As I said before I only took one pill but I've been off of it for well over 60 days. From looking at the SSRI Path 1 diagram I am able to be issued a certificate if I'm off of it for 60 days and I have a favorable report from my doctor. I have my medical this Tuesday but I'm gonna see if I can consult the AME and I won't give them my confirmation number
 
Yes technically you could go path 1. Will need to establish (from your drs documentation) when you discontinued meds...they will need a date. Also probably going to need a psych evaluation...my regional flight surgeon told me that they are requiring that more and more for SSRI cases. Definitely follow the advise of everyone and consult first as you plan to do. Unfortunately unless your record is squeaky clean, it’s not a fast, or easy process.
 
GoldenHero92 said:
I wasn't officially diagnosed by the doctor I just told her that ....
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Unless the physician is a complete fool who is willing to take an enormous risk, she documented a diagnosis that justified giving you the Zoloft, even if she didn't tell you. No sane physician gives out prescription pharmaceuticals, especially psychiatric meds, without making a diagnosis and documenting it in your records.

It's that diagnosis that matters to the FAA, much more than whether you took one pill or one hundred.

As others have said, proceed with caution as this can be a minefield. Find out what the diagnosis was and then do a consultation visit.
 
RussS said:
Yes technically you could go path 1. Will need to establish (from your drs documentation) when you discontinued meds...they will need a date. Also probably going to need a psych evaluation...my regional flight surgeon told me that they are requiring that more and more for SSRI cases. Definitely follow the advise of everyone and consult first as you plan to do. Unfortunately unless your record is squeaky clean, it’s not a fast, or easy process.
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Where do I have to get a psychiatric evaluation?
 
The FAA will tell you whether you need a HIMS psych or if a regular one would work...if they require it. It sucks because it’s not cut and dry....they aren’t so easy to read when it comes to what they may or may not require.
 
RussS said:
The FAA will tell you whether you need a HIMS psych or if a regular one would work...if they require it. It sucks because it’s not cut and dry....they aren’t so easy to read when it comes to what they may or may not require.
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How do I know for sure that I'll need a HIMS evaluation? I'm not currently taking it and I havent had a single pill well over 60 days so I dont think I would need a HIMS eval
 
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GoldenHero92 said:
How do I know for sure that I'll need a HIMS evaluation? I'm not currently taking it and I havent had a single pill well over 60 days so I dont think I would need a HIMS eval
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See what the doc at the consult says. I believe a normal AME can do the pathway 1, provided the documentation states the proper things. Hopefully it will be that simple in this case.
 
You will be fine. I went through this about 18 months ago.

You need a HIMS AME. I took a SSRI for 2 weeks. You will need 90 days DOCUMENTED without recurrence of symptoms. You will need to see your prescribing doctor or even better, a licensed psychologist (not social worker or counselor). Your prescribing doc issues a letter explicitly stating when you started and ended the medication. A HIMS Psychiatrist evaluation. Depending on circumstances your AME may be able to certify but likely it will get deferred to OKC. My app took 2 months from AME exam date to FAA OKC approval.

I would budget 6-7 months time from start to finish. It took my HIMS psychiatrist 1 month to get the report done.
 
**UPDATE** I went on the FAA Airman Registry this morning and low and behold...my name and class medical shows up. Immediately contacted Dr Bruce and confirmed I have been issued! Waiting until we see the actual authorization paperwork from the FAA to see what is required for my SI. I will update again when I see that. I will also make a new post outlining everything I did and timelines in one post for ease of look-up for others who go through it.

I won’t celebrate yet until I see the actual paperwork, but the relief I feel right now is HUGE.

Thank you Dr B.!
 
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