Suicidal ideation/Depression medical help
 

I am a flight student at Central Washington University and I had to quit flying because I fell on some hard times. I went to the hospital for suicidal ideations and was released. The hospital told me I had depression, I began seeing a therapist and my doctor diagnosed me with an adjustment disorder. Because of this i went on Prozac for about 3 and 1/2 months and have been off them for almost 3 months. I can honestly say I'm much better now, I am ready to try and get my medical back.

So what steps must i take to get my medical back and does the conflicting diagnosis present and issue?

You don't get this type of advice on the forum.
You contact an AME, or FAA CAMI directly, and start the long process of getting your medical back.
Good information on the FAA.gov site and it will lead you to the FAA Medical homepage. From there you be able to search and get an idea of the first gates to go through in the process.
Good luck.
I hope you really are better.

From what I've read, something like what you went through, you are going to have a real tough challenge getting your medical clearance back.

I may be wrong, but I'm under the impression there is a very limited tolerance on mental disorders especially if you've been diagnosed. I think Bi-Polar is a huge disqualifier.

Good luck, Man. As USMCFlyer said, I hope you're better too.

Suicidal ideation/Depression medical help
 

There is always sport pilot. Wish you all the best.

Sport pilot does not apply if you lost a medical, only if you don't currently have one due to lapse.

This was true in the past, but the FAA recently eased up on the limitations.

Previously you had to be off meds for at least 6 months and have no current clinical diagnosis. There are now limited provisions for flying while taking certain meds as long as the meds work...ie no active disorder.

I believe that anxiety, depression, adjustment disorder fall under the new policy.

A few caveats:

- Since "suicidal ideations" were involved I suspect (but don't really know) that the threshold will be higher to get your medical back. A suicidal pilot is last thing they want, and is the reason why those disorders are disqualifying.

- While you may be able to fly while on meds, that will likely make it very hard to get hired by an airline with a special issuance medical. You might not even be able to get a first class medical on meds. So the goal would be to manage the problem so that you can stay off meds if that's medically realistic in your case.

- Some disorders of this nature have biological/genetic roots, ie some people are just prone to it and a few may need to be on meds for life. But in most cases a person who is aware of himself and his environment can avoid falling into these disorders in the first place. Do some research online. Diet, exercise, limiting alcohol, managing stress, and simply being aware of how you can fall into a mental spiral can keep you out of trouble.

- Pilots can fall into the trap of not seeking help because of the career ramifications, so some suffer through life with low-grade disorders. Don't go down that road, your health and happiness is far more important than aviation.



If you're interested in a career, I would probably seek assistance from an aviation medicine consultant before you talk to the FAA or an AME. Do not fill out an FAA medical app or go flying until you get all the legalities figured out.

Shows what I know. Thought you just had to have a drivers license.

Or if you never had one, IIRC.

Best wishes for the OP.

IIRC, you can also do sport pilot if you had a medical and let it lapse.

I think the deal-breaker is having had your medical yanked by the FAA at some point...if that happened you need to get it back before you do Sport Pilot.

But regardless, Sport Pilots "self certify" so if you go fly you are essentially stating that you don't have any disqualifying issues...that you know about. A past issue which you reasonably believe is resolved should be fine as long as you never lost your medical.