Medical SSRI - Special Issuance

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MedicalPurgatory

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Hey everyone! I was hoping to see if anyone active on here has gone through, or is going through, the process to get their medical back after starting on an SSRI. I'm coming up on 5 months since I lost mine, and will likely be continuing on Path II for Special Issuance (unless I'm able to discontinue the medication beforehand and take Path I). For those of you not in the know, 6 months on a steady dosage is the bare minimum needed before you start with the CogScreen/HIMS AME stuff.

I was hoping to talk with any of you about your experience, especially about how much it cost and how long it took before you were back to work. I'm on admin duty currently, and my ATM and fellow controllers have been very understanding and helpful. I'm glad I got treatment, I'm doing much better by far, and Aerospace Medicine in my region is hopeful that things will work out for me. If you'd rather reach out in private, please don't hesitate to message me.

The process sucks, but I really encourage anyone who needs help to get it. I fought it for a long time, but it was such a weight off my shoulders when I finally got treatment. Hopefully I can help anyone else out with information I'm gathering. Thanks in advance!
 
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mbsatc said:
I had a controller recently fired, for this same thing. Good luck!
Click to expand...

This is a slam dunk for a medical retirement if you fall under one of the "rule-outs", i.e. suicidal ideation, anxiety disorder, etc. Feel like they weren't actually "fired" for the medication. You're actually pretty solidly protected by some MOUs between NATCA and the FAA when it comes to the SSRI program.

MedicalPurgatory said:
Hey everyone! I was hoping to see if anyone active on here has gone through, or is going through, the process to get their medical back after starting on an SSRI. I'm coming up on 5 months since I lost mine, and will likely be continuing on Path II for Special Issuance (unless I'm able to discontinue the medication beforehand and take Path I). For those of you not in the know, 6 months on a steady dosage is the bare minimum needed before you start with the CogScreen/HIMS AME stuff.

I was hoping to talk with any of you about your experience, especially about how much it cost and how long it took before you were back to work. I'm on admin duty currently, and my ATM and fellow controllers have been very understanding and helpful. I'm glad I got treatment, I'm doing much better by far, and Aerospace Medicine in my region is hopeful that things will work out for me. If you'd rather reach out in private, please don't hesitate to message me.

The process sucks, but I really encourage anyone who needs help to get it. I fought it for a long time, but it was such a weight off my shoulders when I finally got treatment. Hopefully I can help anyone else out with information I'm gathering. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I'm not on Path II, I'm taking Path I and everything looks like I'll be back on the floor soon-ish. Was on a low dose of Lexapro that took me off the boards for 6 months, but my psychiatrist agreed to take me off of it. I've been medication free for ~30 days with no issues. I've also been keeping pretty close contact with Aerospace Medicine the entire time, and I'm on track to get a regular issuance medical once the full 60 days without medicine are up. No expensive tests, no HIMS AME, just a regular physical and I should be good.
 
Checking in now that I have my medical back. It took 8 months and 9 days total all over a 5mg dose of an SSRI. I will say it didn't cost me anything outside of copays and lack of OT, because I discontinued the meds without seeing a HIMS AME or paying for a cogscreen/eval. It was boring doing admin work, and a bureaucratic nightmare, but I have no regrets about taking care of my health. Also, for anyone in a similar situation (adjustment disorder), I have a regular issuance medical for work and for flying now. No extra hoops to jump through in the future.

Was really sad seeing the recent thread about a controller suicide. Just remember you can get help without it being the end of your career. Hope it all gets easier in the future.
 
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HighFrequency said:
Checking in now that I have my medical back. It took 8 months and 9 days total all over a 5mg dose of an SSRI. I will say it didn't cost me anything outside of copays and lack of OT, because I discontinued the meds without seeing a HIMS AME or paying for a cogscreen/eval. It was boring doing admin work, and a bureaucratic nightmare, but I have no regrets about taking care of my health. Also, for anyone in a similar situation (adjustment disorder), I have a regular issuance medical for work and for flying now. No extra hoops to jump through in the future.

Was really sad seeing the recent thread about a controller suicide. Just remember you can get help without it being the end of your career. Hope it all gets easier in the future.
Click to expand...
Congrats to you for following thru and taking care of yourself. Since I read this a while back, I did some checking and the FAA has recently significantly relaxed the use of SSRIs, for pilots but not ATC. They announced last year they were adding 7 more approved meds to the list of 4 already approved SSRIs. I won't go onto a tirade over this (yet) but I've attached a link to an article from the AOPA. It's a very informative article for their members, and us as well.

I want to highlight 2 passages from the article (from about 6 months ago):
The announcement comes less than a month after FAA Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup said the FAA would be reducing aeromedical barriers for mental health concerns.
AOPA has called on the FAA to modernize its approach to working with pilots with medical conditions that still allow them to fly safely.
So the pilots union actively worked with the FAA, for the benefit of their members. What a great idea!!

www.aopa.org

FAA removes more aeromedical barriers for mental health concerns

Pilots who are taking an antidepressant will no longer have to undergo routine follow-up neuropsychological evaluations in order to continue flying, the FAA's Office of Aerospace Medicine announced May 31. The agency also approved the use of another antidepressant.
www.aopa.org
 
Anyone else have success getting a special medical clearance with SSRI use lately? I’m just curious because the agreements don’t say it will be approved, but that it can be approved.

I think clinical psychology is one of the biggest junk sciences of them all and that SSRI’s won’t matter unless the underlining issues in your life improve with them, but I am curious to see how this is being handled and applied since it got alot of NATCA and FAA fanfare.
 
FightingIrish2012 said:
Anyone else have success getting a special medical clearance with SSRI use lately? I’m just curious because the agreements don’t say it will be approved, but that it can be approved.

I think clinical psychology is one of the biggest junk sciences of them all and that SSRI’s won’t matter unless the underlining issues in your life improve with them, but I am curious to see how this is being handled and applied since it got alot of NATCA and FAA fanfare.
Click to expand...
The barrier to the SSRI program is that you have to find an AME on their list to take your case. They don’t have to take your case FYI. Then you have to get a cog-screen with an AME psychologist, and an eval from an AME psychiatrist. Good luck finding one near you that will And you also have to see the AME taking your case every few months (in person).
If you take SSRI and choose to stop, some don’t have an issue just getting their therapist to provide the notes the flight doc wants. Sometimes tho, that isn’t enough and the flight doc will STILL want you to go to an AME approved doc for their write up.

The meds are “approved”, provided you can jump through all of their hoops successfully. The culture won’t change they accept medical evidence from your own doctors, and not some AME multiple hours away.
 
Spoony90 said:
Following up on this, didn’t they just recently put an email out saying you can have anxiety, depression and PTSD?
Click to expand...
They put out an email. I think this was them pre-planning for the new schedule...

When certain facilities are doing schedule gymnastics, working 6 day weeks and starting mids on RDOs, being in the building 7 days per week, starting weird shifts at 3 or 4 am, working position for the last 2-4 hours of mid, and any other number of worse options, some people will really struggle. If they try to claim any type of anguish or mental deficiency that requires treatment, the agency is prepared to tell them they're all good now and can take the pills. No need for any medical retirements.
 
GMX said:
They put out an email. I think this was them pre-planning for the new schedule...

When certain facilities are doing schedule gymnastics, working 6 day weeks and starting mids on RDOs, being in the building 7 days per week, starting weird shifts at 3 or 4 am, working position for the last 2-4 hours of mid, and any other number of worse options, some people will really struggle. If they try to claim any type of anguish or mental deficiency that requires treatment, the agency is prepared to tell them they're all good now and can take the pills. No need for any medical retirements.
Click to expand...
They recently pulled my medical for anxiety and depression. It’s a pain in the ass. I now have to see a psychiatrist. Flight surgeon made me send in all my clinical notes. My whole medical record. I regret even exploring my mental health lol

Edit: I’m not on meds. I’ve made that very clear
 
Spoony90 said:
They recently pulled my medical for anxiety and depression. It’s a pain in the ass. I now have to see a psychiatrist. Flight surgeon made me send in all my clinical notes. My whole medical record. I regret even exploring my mental health lol

Edit: I’m not on meds. I’ve made that very clear
Click to expand...
Simply working for the FAA for any amount of time will make the most resilient people depressed at some point.
 

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