FAA allows pilots to take anti-depressants

[dogboy]

FAA allows pilots to take anti-depressants

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/02/us/AP-US-Pilots-Antidepressants.html?_r=1&hp

Under the new policy, pilots who take one of four antidepressants -- Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa or Lexapro -- or their generic equivalents will be allowed to fly if they have been successfully treated by those medications for a year without side effects that could pose a safety hazard in the cockpit. The antidepressants are classified as SSRIs, which help regulate mood.

In addition, the FAA will grant a sort of amnesty for pilots who have kept their treatment a secret. The agency will not take civil enforcement action against pilots who, within six months, disclose their diagnoses of depression and treatment.

Technically, the new policy would not protect pilots who lied about the issue from criminal prosecution, a spokesman for the agency said. But the inspector general of the Department of Transportation has said that prosecution would only be sought in extraordinary cases, such as when other criminal conduct was involved, according to Les Dorr, spokesman for the FAA.

[Nathan]

So?

I'd rather have medicated pilots than clinically depressed pilots.

[a2capt]

Tell ya what ..

Flying is a great anti-depressant.

As long as you have money for gas, oil, tie down and insurance.

[Spike]

So?

I'd rather have medicated pilots than clinically depressed pilots.

And the morning the Pilot forgot to take his mes because he was in a hurry? ?  He goes into a troubled depression and flies all 300 passangers into the ground.

This is a no-brainer.  Fit to Fly commercial airliners=no Medical conditions that can interfer with the operation of the aircraft while in flight. 

Correctable conditions (i.e. eyeglasses, hair transplantation, nose lifts and cosmetic surgeries.......you are good to fly (and probably look good as well    )

[tdepp]

So?

I'd rather have medicated pilots than clinically depressed pilots.

And the morning the Pilot forgot to take his mes because he was in a hurry? ?  He goes into a troubled depression and flies all 300 passangers into the ground.

This is a no-brainer.  Fit to Fly commercial airliners=no Medical conditions that can interfer with the operation of the aircraft while in flight. 

Correctable conditions (i.e. eyeglasses, hair transplantation, nose lifts and cosmetic surgeries.......you are good to fly (and probably look good as well    )

Spike, I'm not a doctor, but I play one on CapTalk. 
In the situation you describe, if a pilot missed one dose or even a couple, that likely wouldn't be a problem as there would still probably be a medically effective amount of anti-depressant in the pilot's bloodstream. 
Depression is a far more widespread problem that society wants to admit.  Many people function perfectly well on anti-depressants.  It's when depression is not treated that creates problems for the individual or others.  We're not talking about a person who is hearing voices or is thinking someone is following them.

[Pumbaa]

Anti-depressants take a while to become effective... 30+ days for some...

On the flip side you can go a number of days before you start feeling the downside of not having it.

[Flying Pig]

My question is why was this lift of the ban necessary?  As a cop I cant take Prozac and carry a gun, but I can fly a 747 full of people?

[Short Field]

The downside of people hiding their depression outweights the risk from people admitting it and getting treatment? 

[davidsinn]

My question is why was this lift of the ban necessary?  As a cop I cant take Prozac and carry a gun, but I can fly a 747 full of people?

Maybe that policy should be changed as well. I'd rather have a medicated cop respond to an incident involving me than one that is not medicated because he'd lose his job.

I've been there. It's a bad place. Medication helps immensely. It's far past time that mental problems got recognition.

[AirAux]

It is hoped that the anti-depressants will counteract the depressing affects of the alcoholism..

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

Tell ya what ..

Flying is a great anti-depressant.

As long as you have money for gas, oil, tie down and insurance.

I hope you're saying that tongue-in-cheek.

I have suffered from clinical depression for many, many years and wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

I thank God that I have had doctors figure out medication regimens to keep me on an even keel.

It's one of those things where if you haven't been there, you won't understand.

[heliodoc]

Depression is the most least understood of "diseases."

I know plenty of folks clinically or otherwise, with various forms of depression

SOME folk here on CAPTalk probably would benefit by studying the issue for as long as they do for CAP activities this week...

CAPTAlkers and their so called cheery attitudes may benfit to understand why the FAA came to the understanding

Ever notice all the new training the FAA is doing on SBT and other instructional training they have been doing the last 5-8 years?

The probably are discovering new ways the brain thinks and they way people do the things they do....

So in the case of depression...some folks have probably "learned" to condition themselves with the "disease" with or without drugs.

The folks who do with the drugs ought not be ashamed....this in, the last 10 years (for the lack of better data) has been a "new" course of study of depression.  It's more common than CAPers or even CAPTalkers think.....

It's a little more than worrying if the "pilot took his/her meds" today

[Short Field]

The military woke up to the fact that failure to treat depression was leading to an increase in suicides.  It took a while to get the system to stop considering people who had problems with the stress of combat as just "weak" and get them the treatment that would let them become effective again.  It was a win-win. 

A recent study revealed that New York City officers kill themselves at a rate of 29 per 100,000 a year. The rate of suicide in the general population is 12 per 100,000. Most of the victims are young males with no record of misconduct who shoot themselves while off duty.  Maybe some prozac would help...

[Rotorhead]

So?

I'd rather have medicated pilots than clinically depressed pilots.

And the morning the Pilot forgot to take his mes because he was in a hurry? ?  He goes into a troubled depression and flies all 300 passangers into the ground.

This is a no-brainer.  Fit to Fly commercial airliners=no Medical conditions that can interfer with the operation of the aircraft while in flight. 

First of all, that's not how antidepressants work. Your ignorance is showing.

Secondly, the reason they were originally disallowed is because the antidepressants typically prescribed when the reg was written caused drowsiness. Current ones do not.

[dogboy]

And the morning the Pilot forgot to take his mes because he was in a hurry? ?  He goes into a troubled depression and flies all 300 passangers into the ground.

This is a no-brainer.  Fit to Fly commercial airliners=no Medical conditions that can interfer with the operation of the aircraft while in flight. 

Everyone in the airline industry and in general aviation knows that the underground use of these anti-depressants has been widespread for years among pilots. Further, pilots who needed treatment were afraid to openly seek it.

[dogboy]

My question is why was this lift of the ban necessary?  As a cop I cant take Prozac and carry a gun, but I can fly a 747 full of people?

Departments differ in this matter. LAPD permits the use of anti-depressants.

[cap235629]

My question is why was this lift of the ban necessary?  As a cop I cant take Prozac and carry a gun, but I can fly a 747 full of people?

Departments differ in this matter. LAPD permits the use of anti-depressants.

Also, what business is it of your employers as to what is in your medical records.  It is a violation of your privacy and absolutely NONE of their business. Cops are still citizens of the United States and have rights just like anyone else.

[Flying Pig]

LAPD permits a lot of things that other agencies do not because of politics, not because they set the standard.

[Spike]

So?

I'd rather have medicated pilots than clinically depressed pilots.

And the morning the Pilot forgot to take his mes because he was in a hurry? ?  He goes into a troubled depression and flies all 300 passangers into the ground.

This is a no-brainer.  Fit to Fly commercial airliners=no Medical conditions that can interfer with the operation of the aircraft while in flight. 

First of all, that's not how antidepressants work. Your ignorance is showing.

Secondly, the reason they were originally disallowed is because the antidepressants typically prescribed when the reg was written caused drowsiness. Current ones do not.

What?!?!?!? Take some Med school and call me in the morning.  I can accurately tell you that drowsiness is still a side problem of many antidepressants.,  Only Four (4) new antidepressants have been added to the list in the last ten years.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

I didn't go to med school, but over the past 20-odd years I have been prescribed everything from Imipramine to Zoloft.

The early tricyclic antidepressants had some nasty side effects, including dry mouth, constipation and, yes, drowsiness.  When I was prescribed those I was directed to take them at night because of the drowsiness.

I remember when I was first prescribed Sinequan I was at my then-girlfriend's apartment when I took my first dose.  It zonked me so bad that she wouldn't let me drive home and I spent the next 12 hours or so in the Twilight Zone.

The newer ones, SSRI's, are much less prone to cause drowsiness.  I take Zoloft in the morning.

Important to remember: the same med is not going to affect two people exactly the same way.  I've had bad side effects with meds that other people I know taking exactly the same thing at the same dosage had no problems with (and vice-versa).