Will this be automatic medical class 1 deferral?

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bobbylee123

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bobbylee123
If I check "yes" to mental disorders, will this be an automatic deferral?

Do my additional comments explaining my answer impact whether or not it will be deferred?
 
Details are important. As is time that has passed (or not). It is impossible to say.

Pilots & their mental health are caught in flux right now at OKC regarding mental health & drugs used to treat depression, etc. That is especially true after the pilot in the jump seat tried to kill the engines while in flight (He was self-medicating depression with shrooms). That incident brought mental health issues for pilots to the fore with the public & Congress. Finding young people to begin training who haven’t been prescribed Ritalin for ADHD in the past has been a barrier as well.

the FAA OKC is a dinosaur regarding this issue, far behind in both outlook & in keeping up with the latest drugs (for many conditions, not just mental health). They’re getting finally getting the message that forcing pilots underground with their struggles for fear of losing their medicals is way more dangerous than treating them & keeping them flying.

your only solution is it schedule an “advisory” exam with an FAA medical examiner (do not fill out the online form, but print it & take it with you).
 
Yes, you will most likely be deferred. If you lie about it, most likely they will catch up with you and it is a felony to lie on these forms. Best course of action is to find a qualified AME and do a consultation before you submit the form. There are doctors who post here that specialize in these cases. Best to contract one of them, detail ALL your issues and see what they say. A quick search of this forum will probably yield a good overview of what is involved for your particular condition(s). Some conditions can be issued, others cannot.
 
I certainly hope so. And like Paul S said lying on the form as a felony. It’ll catch up to you after you spend a ton of money on instruction and ratings.
 
PaulS said:
Yes, you will most likely be deferred. If you lie about it, most likely they will catch up with you and it is a felony to lie on these forms. Best course of action is to find a qualified AME and do a consultation before you submit the form.
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Yes, lying on the form is a felony. But no, most likely they will not catch you; and whether they do is highly situational. Not that anyone should lie on Medxpress; they shouldn't. But not because the FAA will surely catch them because that's not reality.

Let me be the fourth or fifth to suggest the OP really needs to go for a consult with a senior AME who works with tough cases.
 
Hi everyone, for context, my doctor said I have moderate depression and moderate anxiety but did not prescribe me meditation. This happened a couple months ago, wondering if this will be a deferral?
 
bobbylee123 said:
Hi everyone, for context, my doctor said I have moderate depression and moderate anxiety but did not prescribe me meditation. This happened a couple months ago, wondering if this will be a deferral?
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If you go in there unprepared and without a consult first, it very likely will. Get the consult, follow up with your doc, and do it right the first time.

wingmanmed.com

Depression FAA Flight Physical - Wingman Medical

Depression and anxiety don't need to end your flying career. Get treated and get better. With controlled symptoms, the FAA may surprise you.
wingmanmed.com wingmanmed.com
 
Lindberg said:
If you go in there unprepared and without a consult first, it very likely will. Get the consult, follow up with your doc, and do it right the first time.

wingmanmed.com

Depression FAA Flight Physical - Wingman Medical

Depression and anxiety don't need to end your flying career. Get treated and get better. With controlled symptoms, the FAA may surprise you.
wingmanmed.com wingmanmed.com
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I asked a non-HIMS AME and he said i'm probably fine, and told me to just fill out the medxpress form. Should I consult with a HIMS AME specifically?
 
rhkennerly said:
Details are important. As is time that has passed (or not). It is impossible to say.

Pilots & their mental health are caught in flux right now at OKC regarding mental health & drugs used to treat depression, etc. That is especially true after the pilot in the jump seat tried to kill the engines while in flight (He was self-medicating depression with shrooms). That incident brought mental health issues for pilots to the fore with the public & Congress. Finding young people to begin training who haven’t been prescribed Ritalin for ADHD in the past has been a barrier as well.

the FAA OKC is a dinosaur regarding this issue, far behind in both outlook & in keeping up with the latest drugs (for many conditions, not just mental health). They’re getting finally getting the message that forcing pilots underground with their struggles for fear of losing their medicals is way more dangerous than treating them & keeping them flying.

your only solution is it schedule an “advisory” exam with an FAA medical examiner (do not fill out the online form, but print it & take it with you).
Click to expand...
Wished like crazy I would have printed out the form first, and then talked to the AME with the form in hand to make sure I wasn't going to waste time..or MONEY! Because once the form has been electronically submitted, pandoras box has now been opened and down the medical rabbit hole you go
 
bobbylee123 said:
I asked a non-HIMS AME and he said i'm probably fine, and told me to just fill out the medxpress form. Should I consult with a HIMS AME specifically?
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It needs to be a senior AME who works with difficult cases. And not one who's going to tell you to just fill out the form and it will probably be fine. You want to fill out the form and do an actual consult, which you'll pay for, where the AME does everything he'd do for an exam except open your application in the system. Then you follow his instructions if he's confident that either he can issue your medical or the FAA will. If he's not confident of that, you don't have a real exam.
 
bobbylee123 said:
Hi everyone, for context, my doctor said I have moderate depression and moderate anxiety but did not prescribe me meditation. This happened a couple months ago, wondering if this will be a deferral?
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Get a copy of your medical record from that physician. It's important to know whether he documented a diagnosis of depression / anxiety in your record.

And just in case no one has mentioned it - schedule a consultation visit (not a for-score exam) with a senior AME.
 
anyone have personal experience with this? I think I found a HIMs AME, so will talk to him. I'm just trying to predict what he might say. I have moderate anxiety, not depression (cofirmed with my doctor). no meds
 
58driver said:
Wished like crazy I would have printed out the form first, and then talked to the AME with the form in hand to make sure I wasn't going to waste time..or MONEY! Because once the form has been electronically submitted, pandoras box has now been opened and down the medical rabbit hole you go
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Actually Not QUITE true. Submitted Medxpresses in which no designee has used the "confirmation code" all self expunge in 60 days. You can always obtain YOUR copy of the SUBMITTED Medxpress, at the post submission "completed application" button.

At the bottom of the page is a 12 digit number. White it out and get a consult, HIMS AME only.

I constantly nag my established pilots to get me their medxpress 2 weeks before so I can pre review. "We are NOT GOING OVER THAT Cliff without preparation...and if the prep isn't good we better have a GOOD reason to go off the cliff.....!"
 
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bbchien said:
Actually Not QUITE true. Submitted Medxpresses in which no designee has used the "confirmation code" all self expunge in 60 days. You can always obtain YOUR copy of the SUBMITTED Medxpress, at the post submission "completed application" button.

At the bottom of the page is a 12 digit number. White it out and get a consult, HIMS AME only.

I constantly nag my established pilots to get me their medxpress 2 weeks before so I can pre review. "We are NOT GOING OVER THAT Cliff without preparation...and if the prep isn't good we better have a GOOD reason to go off the cliff.....!"
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Sir!! Thanks for the response, just saw this
 
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