"Provisional" diagnosis of bipolar among other things.

[N/A]

Ok so I am completely aware that I have a very difficult medical situation and I beat myself up over my past every single day. I am currently an A&P machanic because I realize that my dream of once flying as a commercial pilot is crushed. However, I am still not willing to except this and I am in desperate need of some kind of hope to hold onto. I have been having a difficult time tracking down my records but once done I plan to start whatever process I need to.
So let's get to the problem; 6 years ago when I was completely on my own I decided to go see a counselor and pretty much made my own diagnosis as adhd in order to get some meds that I could make a quick buck off of. This went on for a year, I was never actually on the meds but I am assuming I'm going to have to act as if I was seeing as how that is clearly an illegal thing to do.
Fast forward 3 years; got really drunk one night and admitted myself into a nut house because I was feeling pretty down and depressed about where I was at in life (lost my home of 7 years and became homeless with no family to turn to). I was already in a&p school at the time because I was trying to put 3 years in between med usage. But once becoming homeless it was extremely difficult to keep up with so I took a break. Felt like a total failure in every aspect of life. Anyways, I truly felt depressed and while in the nut house I got very angry one night because they kept trying to force valume on me for alcohol withdraw with I clearly didn't need so they then put me on bipolar meds. When I got out I decided to continuing seeking help because I thought maybe I was actually depressed but for the next 3 months everytime I went to the doctor and told her the meds were not helping at all and I didn't like them she just kept upping the dosage until I just stopped taking everything and quit going. I recently got the sheet from that place and they have my diagnosis as bipolar ll disorder, provisional. Generalized anxiety disorder. Personal history of sexual abuse in childhood. Moderate cocaine stimulant use disorder. Servers alcohol use disorder. Adhd predominantly inattentive presentation. Vitamin d deficiency.
That paper was the most devastating thing i have ever seen. I had hopes before this paper because the counselor or prescribing doctor said I was 100 percent not bipolar at one point and well I was hoping to see a diagnosis of depression.
Sorry for such a long post but I wanted to make sure every medical detail was spoken of so I can gauge is there is any slight possibility for me to get past this and how to go about it.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

I imagine others will chime in but in the long run the first thing is to get well and get these health issues straightened out.

Then you will need to get the help of a senior HIMS AME to deal with the medical issues for the FAA.

If the BPD diagnosis is in error, there might be a chance to straighten this out. But you will need to be in a HIMS program.

The FAA also considers 10 years of off meds and no events or problems as pretty good evidence one can fly safely.

Selling the meds is a serious crime but there is a statute of limitations on that. Might want to check with an attorney on that.

Also of note, most of the senior HIMS AMEs will not work with people that have been involved in falsification to the FAA in any way.

So I would suggest focus now on getting well, realizing there is a chance you can fly someday.

Best wishes in your recovery.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

Also perhaps see my FAA medical information page while waiting on contact with one of the expert HIMS AMEs.

http://tinyurl.com/faaMedicalInfo

Contacting one of them will be the only good way to judge your likelihood of ultimate success.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

I have to strongly disagree with Brad, at least with respect to timing. Under NO circumstances should you discuss this with the FAA until you have consulted with a senior HIMS AME on the likelihood of success.

In terms of timing, actually, I think the issue to be addressed even before that is the possible criminal charges which could stem from illegally re-selling a controlled substance. Losing your freedom in a criminal action will make your troubles with FAA medical verification seem minor by comparison.

I would suggest discussing with a criminal attorney in your state the possible ramifications of those acts and what the statute of limitations is. You may be well advised to content yourself with working on other aspects of these issues until that time has elapsed and you are no longer exposed to criminal prosecution.

The FAA has no statute of limitations and will look into this anyway, but at least once the statute of limitations passes, you can’t be thrown in prison for it. Unless you try lying to the FAA about it, which is also a Federal felony.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

The other item to note about talking to the FAA is that they can refer to the Federal prosecutor for prosecution of any suspected illegal activity, including lying on the FAA medical form. And anything the OP says to them can be used against him in a court of law.

OTOH, a private consultation with an AME is protected by doctor-patient privilege. No such protection if you speak to an FAA RFS.

While the FAA has a new compliance philosophy, the OP would expose himself to greater legal risk by speaking with the RFS instead of an AME.

We don't really know the OP's full legal situation (and I would frankly not encourage him to discuss it on a public board, even anonymously since the records of the IP numbers used could be subpoenaed).

I am concerned from both a flight safety and legal repercussions for the OP point of view that he has stated he committed a crime (albeit a non-violent victimless one) and intended to lie about it in order to pass the medical.