I got a letter today from the FAA enclosing my Third Class medical certificate. This, you will recall, is the one I applied for last September, which was denied because I disclosed that I was taking an anti-anxiety medication (Cymbalta) at the time.
Since April of this year I have been working with Dr. Stephan Kramer of Frisco TX to get my medical certificate restored. This has probably cost me around $1000 in doctors fees so far, including $500 for a battery of cognitive tests that gave me a totally clean bill of health.
Still, the FAA does not seem to be that convinced of my mental state...they have only given me a certificate until 20th June 2009. They also want me to provide another set of medical reports to them "on or about April 1st 2009". I will need to discuss with Dr. Kramer exactly what that set of reports needs to contain. I hope that it is not another $1000 worth of reports, but I fear that it may be. Since I am not consulting with a psychiatrist any more, and I am not taking any medications, this report may be rather small, but I will be guided by Dr. Kramer as to what is required.
In addition, the letter contains this statement:

Because of your history of anxiety, depression and ADD, operation of aircraft is prohibited at any time new symptoms or adverse changes occur, or if you experience side-effects or require a change in medication.

This is an odd statement to make, since I have not been on medication since October 27th last year (and I am much the better for it; Cymbalta certainly eliminated my anxiety symptoms, but it also negatively impacted my creative thought processes). Reading this text makes me wonder just how much the FAA examiner actually read of my medical reports.
So, to sum up: I have my medical back, which is good news. However, the FAA certainly seems to be wanting to convert this into some sort of ongoing "prove your sanity" saga, which is not good.
I am now beginning to understand why many pilots have at best a jaundiced view of any involvement with the FAA...