annanimaus
New Member
Hello all, first-time poster. I have a relatively clean medical record, and an entirely clean criminal/legal background. I believe I'm a strong candidate for a class-1 FAA Medical, but this is one potential issue that I'd like to get resolved.
How bad does one-time substance abuse at the age of 19 look? I smoked pot one night, tried vyvanse (an ADHD medication), and drank a beer with some friends. Not a wise decision, I understand, but a one-time mistake when I was young (and dumb). I have no history of substance dependence. Would this be any kind of issue with the medical examiner?
Furthermore, after trying these drugs I had a sensitive reaction to the vyvanse. I ended up not sleeping for nearly 38 hours and as a result of the sleep deprivation and trying of an amphetamine, I fell into a short-lived depression. For 2.5 days I had a miserable mood along with a plethora of physical symptoms (chills, lack of appetite, etc). I went to see my doctor and explained the previous day, and how I had stupidly tried these drugs. I was prescribed Xanax to get me under control, as I was physically very anxious and agitated, and an SSRI to support my mood. I took neither and still have them to this day. I plan on taking them by my doctor soon to have it stated in my medical record that I never took these drugs. The other potential issue is that my doctor wrote in my medical record that I, "had some thoughts of hurting self but nothing serious". When I read this I was rather disconcerted. I never said this, and I can distinctly recall the night prior to this appointment that despite my miserable mood, I was repeatedly telling another doctor that self-harm or suicide were never an option -- ever. I have an appointment planned where I will discuss this with my doctor and attempt to make it clear that what he wrote was not an accurate interpretation of how I felt. I cannot emphasize enough that this isn't how I felt. I get that the "nothing serious" bit downplays the situation, and it may be a less significant deal than I'm making it out to be, but for no other reason than what he wrote isn't true, I will insist and make it clear that I didn't feel that way.
And lastly, would the fact that this depressed mood was the direct result of substance abuse, something that since this time has never been an issue, go far to alleviate any concerns? In any doctor's mind, this obviously isn't clinically relevant, nor is it present in my family's history -- it was a fluky, acute event, and my overall medical history indicates this rather clearly.
So, with all this said, what is my best option(s)? I was also wondering if I needed to disclose any of this to the FAA? If I wait until 2 years after the incident, I will not have abused substances in the last 2 years, nor will I have ever had substance dependence. And lastly, while I have always battled a very mild form of OCD, which I will disclose, despite having the aforementioned depressed mood for 2.5 days, the very fact that it only lasted for 2.5 days makes it clinically insignificant, and likely couldn't medically be classified as "depression" -- would I therefore not need to discuss/disclose this with my medical examiner? These are all questions I have.
Ultimately I want to know what I should and shouldn't disclose during my medical examination. I entirely understand the vetting process that the FAA must go through. Millions of lives depend on aviation and it's not something to be taken lightly. That said, I believe I'm a perfectly (mentally) stable individual who made a dumb decision and suffered some unlikely circumstances as a result. I will proceed with any/all testing they may require, and I could see a psychiatric evaluation being asked of me, and perhaps a letter from my current psychologist, who has seen me for my OCD and knows me to be mentally stable. That said, I also do not want to say more that the law requires me to, and cost myself unnecessary time and money obtaining a medical license. To put it bluntly, if I'm not legally obligated to mention the above incident, I would rather not have to.
And in closing, is my understanding that if you can obtain a medical, you're more-or-less good to go with the airlines...? Any background check will show nothing -- again, I have no criminal record, no traffic violations... really nothing negative on my resume outside of this blemish on my medical record. So, with that in mind, am I safe to assume that I likely wouldn't have any significant issues getting a job with a regional, and later on, a major airline, should I decide to pursue that down the road? I would imagine that some airlines would ask no medical questions whatsoever, in which case I'd fine. I'd suppose that for those that do ask medically-related questions, they're likely less intrusive and there's more room for explanation. I'd also hope that given that I was 19 when this happened and that it was a one-time ordeal, that they'd chalk it up to being young and dumb and not hold it against me. Am I correct in these assumptions or is there more to be worried about?
Thank you all in advance for your responses.
Best regards.
How bad does one-time substance abuse at the age of 19 look? I smoked pot one night, tried vyvanse (an ADHD medication), and drank a beer with some friends. Not a wise decision, I understand, but a one-time mistake when I was young (and dumb). I have no history of substance dependence. Would this be any kind of issue with the medical examiner?
Furthermore, after trying these drugs I had a sensitive reaction to the vyvanse. I ended up not sleeping for nearly 38 hours and as a result of the sleep deprivation and trying of an amphetamine, I fell into a short-lived depression. For 2.5 days I had a miserable mood along with a plethora of physical symptoms (chills, lack of appetite, etc). I went to see my doctor and explained the previous day, and how I had stupidly tried these drugs. I was prescribed Xanax to get me under control, as I was physically very anxious and agitated, and an SSRI to support my mood. I took neither and still have them to this day. I plan on taking them by my doctor soon to have it stated in my medical record that I never took these drugs. The other potential issue is that my doctor wrote in my medical record that I, "had some thoughts of hurting self but nothing serious". When I read this I was rather disconcerted. I never said this, and I can distinctly recall the night prior to this appointment that despite my miserable mood, I was repeatedly telling another doctor that self-harm or suicide were never an option -- ever. I have an appointment planned where I will discuss this with my doctor and attempt to make it clear that what he wrote was not an accurate interpretation of how I felt. I cannot emphasize enough that this isn't how I felt. I get that the "nothing serious" bit downplays the situation, and it may be a less significant deal than I'm making it out to be, but for no other reason than what he wrote isn't true, I will insist and make it clear that I didn't feel that way.
And lastly, would the fact that this depressed mood was the direct result of substance abuse, something that since this time has never been an issue, go far to alleviate any concerns? In any doctor's mind, this obviously isn't clinically relevant, nor is it present in my family's history -- it was a fluky, acute event, and my overall medical history indicates this rather clearly.
So, with all this said, what is my best option(s)? I was also wondering if I needed to disclose any of this to the FAA? If I wait until 2 years after the incident, I will not have abused substances in the last 2 years, nor will I have ever had substance dependence. And lastly, while I have always battled a very mild form of OCD, which I will disclose, despite having the aforementioned depressed mood for 2.5 days, the very fact that it only lasted for 2.5 days makes it clinically insignificant, and likely couldn't medically be classified as "depression" -- would I therefore not need to discuss/disclose this with my medical examiner? These are all questions I have.
Ultimately I want to know what I should and shouldn't disclose during my medical examination. I entirely understand the vetting process that the FAA must go through. Millions of lives depend on aviation and it's not something to be taken lightly. That said, I believe I'm a perfectly (mentally) stable individual who made a dumb decision and suffered some unlikely circumstances as a result. I will proceed with any/all testing they may require, and I could see a psychiatric evaluation being asked of me, and perhaps a letter from my current psychologist, who has seen me for my OCD and knows me to be mentally stable. That said, I also do not want to say more that the law requires me to, and cost myself unnecessary time and money obtaining a medical license. To put it bluntly, if I'm not legally obligated to mention the above incident, I would rather not have to.
And in closing, is my understanding that if you can obtain a medical, you're more-or-less good to go with the airlines...? Any background check will show nothing -- again, I have no criminal record, no traffic violations... really nothing negative on my resume outside of this blemish on my medical record. So, with that in mind, am I safe to assume that I likely wouldn't have any significant issues getting a job with a regional, and later on, a major airline, should I decide to pursue that down the road? I would imagine that some airlines would ask no medical questions whatsoever, in which case I'd fine. I'd suppose that for those that do ask medically-related questions, they're likely less intrusive and there's more room for explanation. I'd also hope that given that I was 19 when this happened and that it was a one-time ordeal, that they'd chalk it up to being young and dumb and not hold it against me. Am I correct in these assumptions or is there more to be worried about?
Thank you all in advance for your responses.
Best regards.
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