prozac

[ravenx]

thanks to my apparently "deaf" GP I ended up taking prozac for three months (the minimum period) after I went to him because I couldn't sleep. I had a few problems going on at the time and he seemed to thnk these were making me depressed. I stopped them as soon as I could. The real truth is simply had too much on my mind.

My concern is how this will affect my class 1 and whether an airline might contact my GP for medical refrences and read DEPRESSION and think "no thanks"

Anyone got any experience in this area

[SID555]

Don't be too hard on your GP, sleep loss is often a symptom of depression and prozac can really help.

However in your case the sleep loss was probably caused by anxiety and was not very severe. I don't think that taking them for three months will be a problem. Obviously depression is a controversial subject for pilots but this case does not sound bad enough to cause any concern.

[ravenx]

SID555 - thanks for the response - do you know if airlines do request information from your GP

[SID555]

Some do (eg BA), some don't. A Class 1 should be enough for most airlines that you are fit to fly. BA look at each case individually and I'm pretty sure yours would be no major concern. I know that there are people who've got on the BA cadet scheme having had a depressive episode requiring medication.

Read my post on the other thread concerning this. That should give you some insight and a comparison of a much more severe problem.

You do not have to worry about this in my opinion, clearly the problem if any was very mild.

[usernothername]

You cannot take Prozac and hold a class1 medical. Some years ago I had mine removed for this reason. It had nothing to do with the illness which was not depression but simply because of potential side effects of the drug.

[SID555]

Obviously you can't hold a Class 1 (or Class 2 for that matter) while you are taking it. A medical can only be granted once you have been off the medication for a certain period of time, usually one third the total time you were taking it.

The question was concerned with having any history of having taken anti-depressants.

Actually usernothername the greater risk comes from the symptoms of depression rather than potential side effects of medication, which is the main reason why you can't hold a medical while taking anti-depressants. The problem comes when the pilot for understandable reasons hides the symptoms and does not get the illness treated.

[usernothername]

SID, it isn't obvious. The original mail isn't specific about whether the person concerned stopped flying. I realise the qestion was about subsequant actions but it is useful to emphasise the point as it is quite possible to go to your GP and be prescribed and yet be apparently fit to fly. My understanding from personal experience is that the restriction has nothing to do with the effects of depression but the effects (potential) of the drug. Remember not everyone who takes prozac suffers from depression.