Antidepressant

[Positivity]

I took an antidepressant a little under two years ago for three months and I wanted to be completely honest so I made mention of it on my DoDMERB packet. I got a remedial back requesting me to send in the records of depression. I am perfectly mentally healthy and I am extremely worried that I will get DQ because of the past usage. This is my goal and I have had tunnel vision for a long time. Could anyone please tell me what they believe the outcome will be?

[EDelahanty]

Was this a doctor's prescription or something you bought over the counter on your own?

[Positivity]

Originally Posted by EDelahanty

Was this a doctor's prescription or something you bought over the counter on your own?

It was prescribed.

[Pima]

Nobody can give you that answer because every case is unique. I know that stinks, but what if we went on here and said no way, crushing your heart, but in actuality they waived you.

Do I think you will get a DQ? Yes, but does that mean I think you will not get a waiver? No. You are only in the remedial process. Let the process work.

Here are some threads for you to peruse in case you haven't already. They are connected with "mood disorder"
http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/...ad.php?t=25883
http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/...ad.php?t=24567
http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/...ad.php?t=23686

I hope this can help you, if not anything, you may want to PM the OP's and see how they navigated the system.

Good luck

OBTW remember DoDMERB DQ's and the branch is the one that decides if they will grant a waiver. The AF may waive it, and the Army dq you. It is up to them.

[EDelahanty]

It was appropriate that you disclosed your history even though it has brought unwelcome results. Unfortunately for you, the Army has a wide latitude in applying DQ's for mental health reasons, as you can see in 2-27, page 14 of the medical standards. "Including, but not limited to, major depression" was a phrase that caught my eye.

http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r40_501.pdf

At this point, as Pima suggests, you might as well go through the remedial process. You may want to discuss with DODMERB whether it would help your situation to have your doctor provide documentation indicating the original cause/symptoms are no longer valid and may have indeed been of limited concern to begin with (assuming of course your doctor is okay with that).

[Pima]

EDelahanty,

That link was enlightening. Thanks for sharing.

[EDelahanty]

I should point out that the link was to the medical standards of the Department of the Army. I don't know how similar to it the standards of the other services are, though I don't imagine they would be very different.

[Pima]

I agree I think it would be quite similar for the other branches.

The only thing I would add is I can't see why the doc would not be okay with it. It is their medical records. It might just be me because we were military, no doc ever denied access to other docs as long as we gave permission for the access.

I would use this time to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst...aka waiver. I would discuss this with my ALO/BGO/MALO to see if they have experience in this situation too.

Like I said before worst case at this point, a DQ is possible, but it doesn't mean it is the end of the world. You can get a waiver, but the waivers come from the branch, thus why EDelahanty stated it was Army, AF, Navy, CG or MMA may be different. Use your resources.

I would also suggest that if you are applying ROTC scholarship to investigate this side too. There have been many candidates that got DQ's from an SA, but q'd from ROTC. To this date I don't understand why, but it happens.

[Positivity]

I am supper bummed about the situation. If I would have known it would be grounds for DQ I would never have mentioned it. I find it extremely unfair. All I can do is pray at this point.

[Pima]

positivity,

You must remember that the military lives by an honor code and although you may have an uphill battle in front of you, you did the right thing by being honest.

I am not sure why you feel it is unfair, they are trying to put your health as a top priority. It is not a form of punishment, it is what is best for you and the military.

It isn't over. Every case is absolutely, positively unique and reviewed one by one. It maybe a DQ by DoDMERB, but when the branch looks at your records they could determine that a waiver is appropriate regarding your case.