Medication

[My Flight Surgeon]

This is the twenty-fourth of a series of threads regarding the history portion of the FAA Form 8500-8 that you complete every time you get a flight physical. For the vast majority of you, this will be just informational and you will not be affected. As with many of the conditions discussed here and elsewhere in these threads, there is a requirement for the pilot to provide medical records and physician documentation regarding the medical condition being reported.

Item 17.a. Do You Currently Use Any Medication (Prescription or Nonprescription)?

You must give the name of medication(s) and indicate if the medication was listed in a previous FAA medical examination. This includes both prescription and nonprescription medication.

Many medications are allowed without further evaluation or consideration. Some medications may require FAA approval. At any time you are uncertain whether or not a medication prescribed by your doctor is approved for flying, call your AME for advice.

* Italicized text is from FAA documents

[johntlewis]

Are there a list of medications given by the FAA that are approved without further evaluation?

[johntlewis]

Correction: IS there a list....... Sorry, I'm not as dumb as I might seem. I promise.

[My Flight Surgeon]

There is not a formal list. There are medications that have been approved in the past and the FAA usually allows those medications once they have been approved once.

[I_WANNA_BE_ATP]

The one big problem I have with the FAA is with one of my meds. I take Astelin, it is an anti-histimine, but according to the PDR and insert literature all say that the drug is NOT systemicly absorbed. BUT yet, the FAA won't allow it, because it is a anti-histimine and can cause drowiness.

I wish the FAA would reevaluate this drug, is there a way to ask the FAA do to that ???

[My Flight Surgeon]

First, the PDR is just a book containing the reproduced package inserts for medications. These contain information the drug company wants the physician to believe as well as information the FDA may require for the drug.

Second, in the case of Astelin, 11.5% of individuals taking the drun while in the drug trials developed somnolence or sleepiness. This was twice as many as had the same effect on placebo. - Pretty significant diffence to me. Additionally, there were 78 adverse reactions included in the product insert.

Third, the effects of Astelin were not studied at altitude where the adverse effects of drugs is exacerbated. The FAA is not going to spend the money to do this research and I doubt there are enough pilots who would take Astelin to make it woirthwhile for the drug company to do so.

The nasal steroids do not have the somnolence adverse effect and would be a better choice for pilots to control their allergic symptoms.

[I_WANNA_BE_ATP]

Guess they changed the insert since I started on it. I don't recall that high an incidence of somnolence.

I can understand about not studing the drug for it's effects at altitude.