First off, I'm posting this here because this section of the forum gets tons more viewing than flight training or hangar talk.

So heres whats up. Me and my shrink have decided that it's very much in my best interests that I begin medication for anxiety problems. The medication will be Lexapro, a fairly mild medication that works quickly and can be used over shorter periods of time.

I've decided that I'm willing to give up flying for a little while (probably going to be 6 to 9 months). But I have some questions about the medical: obviously, I'm grounding myself, and once my doctor takes me off the stuff I need to wait 3 months before going to reinstate my medical. How hard is it to reinstate a medical in cases like this???

And finally, I'd like to give a big ****** YOU to all the lawyers and lawsuit filers out there. They're the reason behind this whole problem in my life.

 

If you can't deal with life why should you be trusted with the lives of others?
In this case the lawyers are doing their job.

Best wishes,
LAFF

 

We had a couple students with issues like this.

IIRC, the FAA wanted a 6 month post-medication evaluation period, with a detailed report from your doctor stating that you are A-OK and unlikely to relapse. If you go the AME with all of the documentation, he should be able to get approval from OKC (possibly the same day, but probably not). You should be able to get a first class.

The bigger issue is if you are pursuing a career...will this problem come back to haunt you again? It would not be practical to periodically take a year off from flying to get treated, do the waiting period, and restore your medical. You would likely have trouble keeping your job if this happened more than once...having this hanging over your head could take the fun out of a flying career. Also you might end up suffering because you are afraid to get treatment in the future for fear of losing your job.

Have you tried diet, exercise, less booze, tobacco, etc?

If you haven't already, I would suggest professional advice. These guys are good, and they are used by some of the big pilot unions:

http://www.aviationmedicine.com/inde...useaction=home

 

Thanks Rick. At this point I'm actually leaning away from airline flying in general. Flying for me would mainly be for fun. Civil Air Patrol,and maybe work if my future job needed it. "On the side" flight instructing in the future is also likely.

As long as I can get a class II medical back with minimal trouble.

 

Find a good AME to talk to or get yourself a membership at AOPA and call the hotline. These people are great at what they do. AOPA has been a big help in financing problems, insurance questions, and health problems. I'm not a rep just a happy member.