I understand. I guess it’s just frustrating when my AME doc said I shouldn’t have any issues. Plus I was only on the medication for a few months during covid. I’m a flight attendant and thought I was going to lose my job and I had just moved across the United States for base. So he said I should be fine since my anxiety came from life changes and not actual mental instability. I just wasn’t expecting this from only being on a low dose of medication for 3 months. But thank you for your response.
Lara,
Think of this though. While you were worried about losing your job, so we’re all the pilots and none of them were able to take an anti depressant. We all powered through. If you want to be a pilot, you will have to be able to do the same.
Chris
I agree. Then again pilots know they can’t take certain medications. I wasn’t aware it would cause an issue months later since I am fairly new to all of this, so just a little shocked by that, but thank you for the help! Now I am definitly more aware since I am pursuing the pilot route. I will jump through the extra loopholes because I know this is what I want to do. I love the industry! Thanks again, take care.
Iara,
Unfortunately you’ll need to do what the FAA asks, regardless of what information you find online says or what your AME says. The FAA reviews medical certificate applications on a case-by-case basis. I know it can be frustrating to learn that more is required of you after being told, “You should be fine.”
If indeed you are stable, then proving so should be the easy part. The hard part is waiting for the FAA in OKC to review your application.
Tory
Okay thank you for your help. It is doable to get approved though, correct? I just don’t want to go down a path where I clearly won’t be accepted. Even though from reading their site it said I should be okay since I have been off the medication (even before my AME examination).
Lara,
I’m going to echo the others here. There are plenty of pilots who have been on antidepressants etc and have successfully gotten their medicals. There are however also many who have not. As Chris pointed out stress is a part of our jobs and if the FAA has any reason to suspect dealing with it is a problem for you, they have a responsibility to the public to investigate.
Adam
Understood! If anyone here has been through this process and has any tips/advice, it would be greatly appreciated. I like to be prepared. Thanks for all the help
Iara,
I have been through the deferral process. Since each deferral is unique you will just have to follow the instructions that you are given and take it one step at a time. There’s really nothing to prepare for besides a potentially very long process before a decision by the FAA is made. How long? That depends on what the FAA wants from you, the availability of the doctors that the FAA wants you to see, and however long it takes for the FAA to review the information that you and your HIMS AME send to them.
Your first step is to schedule an appointment with a HIMS AME. Anything else that the FAA wants from you is unknown at this point. The FAA may just want you to see a HIMS AME? Or they may ask for more? Most likely your HIMS AME will conduct the medical exam and they may also ask you some additional questions about your history with SSRIs.
After the exam, I suspect, can’t say for sure, but I suspect that the HIMS AME will then send your application along with a summary of the administered exam to the FAA for final review. If the FAA is satisfied with the result, your certificate will be mailed to you. If the FAA needs more information, they will mail you a packet of instructions.
Either way, like I said, each case is different. Start with your HIMS AME and go from there.
Tory
Hi Troy,
good to hear there are pilots out there who were able to navigate this. I have a list of things the FAA needs me to do, so I will definitely start by calling a HIMS AME and see where to go from there. Thanks again
1 Like
Hey Lara
I am going through the exact same process as you, in fact, I have already completed everything the FAA has asked for and am merely playing the waiting game for my medical clearance to come in the mail. IF I get accepted of course. There is good news and bad news. The good news is I know everything you need to do and am able to help. The bad news is that you are entering a very long and complex, not to mention time consuming, headache inducing and money spending path. This is going to be expensive indeed. If you would like my help, contact me via my flight school email,
extraemailforflightschool@gmail.com
so we do not constantly blow up everyones notifications in this thread.
As always, I wish everyone a good night and thank all the hard working members in this chat for being so helpful at all times of day.
I appreciate that! I shot you an email, I am definitely willing to do what the FAA needs. I also signed up for a membership with AOPA to guide me. Thanks again!