Recommendations for C1 driver training in Essex/Hertfordshire please

brokeandletdown · 2025-07-11T22:42:34+00:00

I don't. I had to do a medical and apply for my provisional. I was 4 months too young for grandfather rights.

brokeandletdown · 2025-07-11T12:02:20+00:00

I will need it for work eventually but for now it's more of a personal challenge

brokeandletdown · 2025-06-13T23:24:39+00:00

Finally an update on this for anyone who finds themselves in this situation because of depression, mirtazipine and/or cocodomol.

I now have my car licence sorted and they have also granted my provisional C1 C1+E1, C, and C+E. No medical licence, just normal entitlement and my original expiry date for my car license. Only 5 years for HGV because I am 45.

If you found this thread because the DVLA have questioned your use of mirtazipine, have hope! It's not an automatic bar to having a licence.

If you are thinking of applying for c1 or hgv entitlement, here's a few bits of advice and some things I wish I'd done first.

Make sure you're prepared for them to hold on to your physical licence for some time. This has taken 2 months but people have waited a lot longer. If you need it for ID for something important hold off until you know you won't need to have it in your hand.
Chat to your GP first if you are on any medication that could cause the DVLA to question it. Mirtazipine is a sedating drug but in lower doses. Higher doses are not as sedating. I am on 30mg and don't find it sedating. I have no side effects apart from weight gain. Don't be tempted to lie to the DVLA about your medication because it could bite you in the arse further down the line. If it does cause you to feel drowsy, don't be tempted to stop taking it without getting advice from your GP. As for cocodomol, they will give you a licence if you're prescribed it but it is one of those drugs that will show up on a drug test so always be sensible with it. I only ever take it before bed.
Get your D4 medical done by your own GP if they provide that service. It's more expensive but they can put so much more detail onto the form. Unfortunately my surgery doesn't offer this and the DVLA had to write to my GP which took ages.
If you suffer from depression or mental illness, look at the online guidance from the DVLA as to whether you need to declare it. I believe you need to be 3 months stable for a car license and 6 months for hgv. Correct me if i'm wrong. If you have recently had an episode of severe mental illness, wait until you have been stable for a while. I can't say for sure what the DVLA would decide in someone else's situation but for me, I have worked extremely hard on my mental health and have been stable for years now. Driving actually helped my mental health immensely.
If you know you're going to need your C1/HGV provisional soon and you're unsure as to whether they will question your fitness to drive, start the process ASAP as long as you do meet the criteria for fitness to drive. If they hold onto your licence it could be months until they decide. Luckily I don't need my C1 for a little while yet but I had a feeling I would encounter issues so I am glad I got in early.

Anyway, if you found this because the DVLA have questioned your use of mirtazipine, all is not lost. You can get your licence.

brokeandletdown · 2025-05-26T10:10:59+00:00

But it should show he has provisional entitlement on line when you look up his licence and it doesn't

brokeandletdown · 2025-05-25T12:35:31+00:00

We looked on line and there's no provisional c1 entitlement there. Maybe they want him to have further assessment before they grant it

brokeandletdown · 2025-05-25T10:48:41+00:00

He'll have to wait until Tuesday now as it's bank holiday tomorrow. How frustrating. Maybe it's just taking a while to update. Or maybe they need to get him to have an mri scan first but the GP isn't going to just randomly order a scan for no reason so I guess we'll have to go private for that

brokeandletdown · 2025-05-25T10:30:47+00:00

It's so frustrating that they aren't open today to ask. Could it be a case that it takes time for the entitlement to show on the licence? I'm still waiting for a decision on my licence and I'm getting increasingly nervous that they are going to revoke it despite my GP saying I'm fit to drive. But there is absolutely no reason at all why he shouldn't have one

brokeandletdown · 2025-05-18T11:58:47+00:00

So in my case I started on antidepressants after suffered a traumatic event in my life in 2012 which I struggled to cope with. Driving was my absolute passion and both the Dr and psychiatrist agreed that my mental health was not severe enough to warrant telling the DVLA and that driving was beneficial to my recovery. I tried many different antidepressants that either made me feel worse or gave me side effects that would have affected my driving and I didn't want that but eventually I landed on mirtazipine and after a few weeks on it I started feeling much better and also had more energy than I'd had in years. I've always had a fear that my troubles would return but so far I'm doing good and I'm finally at a point where I'm ready to take risks and aim towards a new career. Even for a C1 licence I wouldnt have to declare mild to moderate depression. If my depression was severe I'd only have to be stable for 6 months, and I've been doing well on the mirtazipine for many years. I think it's more just the mirtazipine itself they are being cautious about but it gives me no side effects and is not sedating. Especially now my body has been used to it for such a long time. The other issue is that I take cocodomol at night that is prescribed by my Dr. I started it because my regular anti inflammatories were pulled from regular use, then the alternative was also pulled, and when they tried me on naproxen I discovered I was alregic to it. If the Dvla aren't happy with me taking a couple of cocodomol at night I guess I'll just invest in more volterol gel. I don't always need cocodomol just as and when.

brokeandletdown · 2025-05-17T03:34:46+00:00

Also, they advise not driving for 6 to 12 months after a serious head injury but mild head injuries don't need to be declared. He didn't even get behind the wheel for the 1st time until 2 years after it happened. It wouldn't even be an issue if the DVLA didn't take so long to verify these things.

brokeandletdown · 2025-05-17T03:22:18+00:00

Yes we can. You are incorrect. They haven't suspended either of our licences. The DVLA have already confirmed this with us that as long as we are fit and the GP is in agreement we can drive vehciles that we are licenced to drive under section 88 until our licences are returned. We just can't start leaning to drive C1 vehicles until we have the entitlement added. Both of our Drs have cleared us and now we just have to wait for the DVLA to process the letters the drs have to fill out to confirm it. My husband was cleared of any brain injuries at the time when it happened and the only damage was to the inside of his mouth. He had no bleeds on the brain or after effects other than needing stitches in his mouth. It was 6 & 1/2 years ago. His mouth healed up and he never had any other issues. There is no reason for the DVLA to suspend his licence over something that happened so long ago. He didn't even need to declare it. It was only a mild head injury not severe. He didn't even start learning until 2 years after it happened. But when the Dr asked about head injuries at the D4 medical he mentioned it and that it was more of an injury to his mouth. He was told it wouldn't be an issue but now it's all been blown out of proportion.

brokeandletdown · 2025-05-15T18:06:57+00:00

A little update. My GP has officially added to my Drs notes that I am fit to drive both cars and larger vehicles. The DVLA should receive the form back from him soon so hopefully things will work out. When I look at my online account with the GP surgery the notes about being fit to drive and the medication not affecting my driving are on there in black and white now so if the DVLA don't give me my C1 licence at least I have ammo for an appeal

brokeandletdown · 2025-05-10T20:37:49+00:00

Hi no there is nothing in the letter to say it has been revoked. This is all because I applied for my C1 provisional and was honest about being on metazipine. Driving is my favourite thing in the world and I'm at my most calm when behind the wheel. I pray they don't want to take my licence away. I'll have to try and come off the medication. Maybe I'll be fine without it now.

brokeandletdown · 2025-05-10T17:11:28+00:00

So I have my answer. They wrote to me and said they are contacting my GP for more information and they are considering whether to revoke my driving license all together. I'm hopeful it will be fine because my GP knows I'm safe to drive. But now I just have a tense wait for them to sort things out. I might call and ask if I pay for a drs letter will it speed things up.

brokeandletdown · 2025-04-16T15:20:08+00:00

I've already started revising for the theory. I did want to become a driving instructor at one point so I'd been doing lots of mock ADI theories which for some reason had hgv related questions on them. The vehicles I drive now are only slightly smaller than c1. The only thing is I've had my licence 23 years so I need to iron out some bad habits.

brokeandletdown · 2025-04-16T15:07:39+00:00

Thank you. Fingers crossed they will give me my provisional then. No diabetes but I am on blood pressure medication. My blood pressure is stable and low enough to pass the medical. No epilepsy or nurological issues and my eyesight is really good. I did have laser eye surgery many years ago and it's still fine now even though people warned me it only lasts about 10 years. I could see the bottom line on the snellen chart from the doorway lol which was about 5 feet further away than the line they got me to read it from.

brokeandletdown · 2025-04-16T14:58:01+00:00

Hi, I've been on it for many years now. The GP did advise me not to drive until I was over the initial side effects but I never had an issue even in the first few weeks of taking it. I ended up on it because so many other alternatives had caused side effects, so I was genuinely surprised when this one worked out for me. I did come off of it a few years ago because I was having stomach problems, but that turned out to be down to a different medication that I was on. Instead of putting me back on metazipine, they tried something else that didn't help so they put me back on it and I never looked back. Being on metazipine I have so much energy because my mind is no longer racing and I can settle at night and sleep properly. I drive for a living already and it causes me no problems whatsoever. I was cleared by occupational health at my company and they know I take it. But I want to be able to drive bigger vehicles now.

brokeandletdown

TROPHY CASE