I have to say something, for the second half of my career with big pharma, I worked with Antidepressants in both clinical phase 3 and safety studies, we had to learn everything about them from the 'company' point of view - so the subject and knowledge is dear to me.
I don’t think that there is a restriction on the types of Antidepressants while operating a truck. I found nothing in the FMCSA regs and assume that the FMCSA allows the used as prescribed. As for a company, I know in my contractor hiring duties, I had no way to use the fact that someone was using this type of medication to stop them from working for the company and as matter of fact I wasn’t allowed to ask by federal law – medical privacy rights and such. I know that companies can’t ask about a lot of things, even as a contractor with exceptions of prescription narcotics because of the impairment issue.
But with that said here are my educated concerns;
Taking a couple types of Antidepressants there are concerns over sleep regulation and in some cases the Antidepressants losses it effectiveness as a mood swing suppressor over time. The sleep issue is really a problem in this profession, many people don't have the problem but the ones who do, it is h**l on them. These are in the studies that ARE NOT published.
Most Antidepressants are life time drugs contrary to what the drug companies tell you. They are as bad as pain killers and many people become addicted to the drug to the point of serious withdrawal symptoms not unlike heroin - this came out in one of the studies.
Another big issue is going from one drug to another for example going form Paxil to Zoloft or vice versa. These drugs are different compounds and need at least 4 to 8 weeks to wind down before changing prescriptions. Doctors don’t watch patients close enough to see changes when prescriptions are change and really don't care. Also doctors are like many mechanics, they try different drugs (parts in a mechanics case) to find out what works (or fixes the problem) instead of using their skills and interact with the patient (car) to find out what really is the problem. Most visits with doctors are less than 15 minutes and in that time the doctor has a list of things to do - finding out what is wrong is not always on that list.
I am very critical about these drugs and doctors. I’ve experienced my own doctor insisting I take statins twice the normal dose to control cholesterol but almost had a fight with him trying to tell him he can’t tell me to do something that is not approved and that he needs to learn about the drug first before prescribing them. With Antidepressants, the first thing is that these are psychiatric drugs and should by all accounts not be prescribing by a family doctor but a psychiatrist. (Sounds harsh but I know some 12 year olds that were put on Zoloft by their family doctor when they needed to be in therapy –the parents wanted to find a way to have a quick solution without caring about what happens to their kids.) The dumb doctors who prescribe these drugs don’t have a clue about side effects, long term effects or what signs should be indicators for depression. They either are told by non- medical people (drug reps) or go to a seminar paid for by the drug companies to learn about the drugs, how to prescribe them and who to prescribe them to. In addition there are no real studies with children taking place with the use of these drugs as there were with the studies to submit the NDA (New Drug Application).
The long and the short of the answer is this, The driver must not operate a vehicle in an non-impaired manner. Wheather that is alcohol,illegal drugs or prescribed drugs, it does not matter. If your codriver takes the medication and has the effect of being drowsy, inattentive or lethargic. They have the morale decision to make and hence the legal one also. The first thing the attorneys will ask your codriver is, how did the medication make you feel. Case in point. I take Benicar 40 mg P.O. Q.D. or once a day. Now this drug does not affect me by making me tired lethargic or inattentive. But what it will do is make my stomach roll if I do not eat prior to taking it. So, if I drive on this medication and I have an upset stomach (Major) that cause me to be less than 100 percent, I am liable. Every medicationout there affect each of us differently. How many times have you been offered asprin or tylenol for a headache and took one over the other? Why because one works for you better than the other. Give me an asprin and nothing, Tylenol on the other hand relieve my headache in 5 minutes it seems. So, monitor your co-driver, if they are symptomatic, then do not allow them to drive. If no symptoms and they are honest about it, then drive on drivers! :+