In September 2007 I was denied a renewal of my Third Class medical certificate by the FAA because I was taking Cymbalta at the time. This is on the FAA list of psychotropic medications. I was aware that anti-depressants were incompatible with piloting according to the FAA, but did not know at the time that anti-anxiety drugs also fell into the same category.
I worked with my doctor to taper off and stop taking Cymbalta in the Fall of 2007 (not just for flying reasons - my use of it was negatively affecting my creativity and drive, which was affecting my work performance). I then got my doctor to send documentation to the FAA in April to request them to allow me to be issued a Medical certificate once more. By return mail I recieved a brusque form-letter dismissal of my application.
Reasoning that, since my doctor is not an AME, he may not have communicated information correctly to the FAA, I am now working with Dr. Stephan Kramer in Frisco TX, who in addition to being an AME who is also a pilot, works regularly with commercial pilots to get their medical certificates restored.
Basically, once you have gone on the FAA radar scope by virtue of a medical certificate denial for mental issues, you have to go through a fairly elaborate exercise to convince the FAA that you have (in Dr. Kramer's words) been "treated to remission". This process involves gathering medical records of all related treatment (in my case, since the cause of my anxiety was my divorce, this involves therapy records in addition to medical treatment records) and having a Psychologist execute a collection of cognitive tests on me. I completed the cognitive tests last week, with excellent results, and we are now assembling the paperwork for the FAA.
This process is likely to take another 2 months, after which time, if all goes well, I will be able to take to the air again. Until then, I will continue to work on the plane, conduct the 2008 ACI earlier in the year, and make sure I am ready to fly again. The only question then becomes one of whether I can afford to do any more than buzz around the patch...