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Comment by rogerrogerr | Hacker News Reader

Note that if you ever want to be a pilot, THINK VERY HARD BEFORE GETTING DIAGNOSED OR MEDICATED. This doesn't apply to most people, but it is the major gotcha on an otherwise straightforward decision.

/r/flying is full of people who wish they didn't have this in their medical record. The FAA is totally backwards about medical stuff and has a very dim view towards ADHD & associated meds.

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I've been told that the military also won't take people who have a prescription for Ritalin; not sure if that's true.

OCS wouldn't return my calls, but I think that was more due to my GPA than my prescription for Ritalin.

I'm disappointed to acknowledge you have a point. Shame on the FAA for pushing people into the closet with this.

If one did want to become a pilot, I do think it would be critical to determine whether or not they were prone to manic episodes. That really could be very dangerous to a pilot and their crew, passengers, etc.

Also, from my 15 minutes of preliminary research, I don't think that applies to pilots of ultralights. So if your dream is simply to fly, it's still achievable.

Manic episodes is not and ADHD symptom, you're looking at bipolar here. Please.

Yes, you are correct. My point is that a lot of people who self diagnose as ADHD have a different disorder that causes executive function issues, and it's important to rule out bipolar because it has very different consequences. I don't care if someone with untreated ADHD or ASD flies a plane, but untreated bipolar disorder could actually be dangerous. (Not a doctor.)

This came up on HN recently. I don’t have the link.

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