Past medical history and annual physicals

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mintyicedtea

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Our son wants to apply to SA's in a couple of years. I have questions about his past medical history and about annual physicals in general.

When Bobby (not his real name) was around 5-8 years old - we were pursuing all kinds of treatments for his older brother Sam, who has ADD/Asperger's (never officially diagnosed, but we knew). These were natural approaches like a candida supplements, b12 shots, allergy treatments, heavy metal detox, food allergy testing, and so on. Since we were taking Sam to these docs, we took Bobby too and had him undergo some of the same protocols. Bobby used to have a lot of food allergies and diarrhea issues, but over the years they seem to have resolved and/or healed.

We saw 3-4 specialists in that period of time, but we eventually stopped and settled on a conventional pediatrician. Bobby eats anything now, and his allergies seem a lot milder now. Sometimes he'll get hay fever, but it's mild and maybe lasts a couple of days. He was never prescribed an inhaler or allergy meds in the past, other than an inhaler to use for a week when he got bronchitis/pneumonia at 13 yrs. I think that was around the last time he had a physical.

I've been reading the forums and all the DODMERB, DQ and waiver posts are scaring me.
Do I have to go back and track down all those doctors from that period of time? I have no idea what things are in those records.

Bobby is now a fan of essential oils and has been using them to build his immune system and keep allergies at bay. We found a really great holistic doctor for our family, but we are hesitant for him to see the new doc (or any doc) for a routine physical because she will run bloodwork and may find something to treat. If it's on his chart, it will get reported right? For example, we took brother Sam to her for a checkup. When we looked at his summary, she had put ADD on there based on our conversation with her, not from any testing she had done. On the other hand, she is a terrific holistic doc and may have good recommendations for him.

Bobby seems healthy, so should we play it safe and avoid having him get a physical until DODMERB unless he has an obvious medical problem?
 
Testing isn't required for a provider to diagnose ADHD. Social, occupational, or academic impairment can aid in the diagnosis. Tests can be used to "confirm" a diagnosis.
 
Thanks for that clarification. (It was older brother who got that on his record, not Bobby.)

Neither son has taken ADHD meds or had an IEP. Both are excellent students.
 
As you know your son's health is the most important thing. Don't let the the prospect of a DoDMerb medical prevent you from seeking medical treatment or having an annual physical. And for your direct question, if it is in his file as a diagnosis it needs to be reported on the medical history form. That being said, manage DS physician. Let them know that a military career may be in Bobby's future. You may be able to influence what is put down as a diagnosis.

The use of the inhaler will trigger DoDMERB "interest". Explaining that the inhaler was short term, for pneumonia and the pneumonia is resolved may surfice. It sounds like from what you have described that you are going to need to report food allergies. Food allergies are also going to trigger "interest". If you get to the point of a request for additional information and they request all medical records, you are going to have to track down all of those Dr that Bobby saw and provide those documents. If you wait till after you get the request, you may discover inconsistencies between what you currently "know" and what is in the records.

Here is a flowchart of the DoDMERB waiver process that may help https://dodmerb.tricare.osd.mil/Content/MedicalWaiverConsideration.pdf
 
I checked my calendar, and the inhaler for pneumonia happened two months before his 13th birthday. Will that still trigger DoDMERB "interest"?

Would it be a good idea to get copies of his medical records from the 5-6 doctors he's seen before age 13 to review?
 
I honestly would not put too much thought into this. When he is in the process the questions are very specific, and more about the "bronchitis" than about what was prescribed. He will answer yes or no to each question and provide details in his own words. If the inhaler comes up as a result of the questions asked, then if it triggered interest you will go to the doctor and get a copy of his medical records for that item and send it in. It does not ask for "all records", and Concorde (the contractor) does not get the records, it is your son's responsibility to provide them, so you/he will request the ones from that specific issue and send them in. As long as the diagnosis is bronchitis and not asthma, there is no issue. I am pretty sure it does not ask "have you used an inhaler", but if it asks if he has bronchitis, that is where that could come up.
 
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