AFROTC Asthma Waiver?

AFLOVE

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I apologize in advance for the lengthy post, but I am searching high and low for answers in what my chances could possibly be in receiving a medical waiver for an asthma diagnosis on January 20, 2014. I was 17 years old when my diagnosis took place, and I am currently 19.

I know that DoDMERB is black and white when it comes to an asthma diagnosis after the age of 13. I am already expecting to receive a medical DQ. I am trying to stay hopeful that I will be able to receive a medical waiver for my asthma. Here is my situation

I know that I do not currently nor have I ever actually had asthma. My doctor, whom is just my family doctor, not a pulmonologist, prescribed an albuterol inhaler for some slight tightness in my chest that I felt during soccer practice and decided to tell my doctor about during my appointment to get a flu shot. In retrospect, the slight tightness I was feeling was from a mild cold. Point blank, I NEVER had to rely on the inhaler but was told to take a puff before my soccer practices to see if it helped. I used it probably 3 times max to see if it would help any and it did not help my performance at all. I was just as active without the inhaler than with it. If anything, I felt worse after taking the inhaler puff because it made my arms feel tingly.

I have already completed a year of AFROTC and have gotten through all my PT sessions with no problems at all. My last and best FA score was a 93.5.

I have already completed a spirometry and sent it into DoDMERB. I did so well on it that the people in the doctors office had a hard time interpreting the results after I was done, then realized my results were way better than average for a 19 year old 136 lb girl.

Is there any chance that I could get a medical waiver with the information I just provided? I have a methacholine challenge test scheduled for Aug 11th, 2016 to prove I do not have asthma. Hopefully results are in my favor. If I DO pass this methacholine challenge test, will that help my situation?

Also, I want to be a nurse in the Air Force. Will my major have some sort of pull in whether or not I receive a waiver or not? I know nurses are needed in the Air Force so I'm not sure if DoDMERB would consider that. I am also a decent student, making deans list for 2 semesters straight and keeping an "A" in my aerospace class for ROTC.

any advice is greatly appreciated, thankyou!
 
AFLOVE -- have you used the search tool in the upper right hand corner of the forum page? Plug in "Asthma Waiver" and you will get a large number of threads on folks experience. I think you will find answers to some of your questions on the spirometry and methacholine testing.

Best wishes
 
I'm putting on my nurse hat...

If you were never actually diagnosed by a pulmonologist with asthma you do not have asthma. Most PCP's are not going to do the full workup involved in a definitive diagnosis, that is where referrals come in. Asthma treatment doesn't simply involve an inhaler you take PRN, it is steroids, nebulizers, more inhalers, maybe some oral medication, and lovely multiple readmissions to the hospital during trigger season.
My disclaimer: My child is a rising 8th grader so I have no experience when it comes to SA, I did do a semester of AROTC before enlisting in the Navy (and I've stayed at a Holiday Inn Express).
There was no waiver for asthma at all in basic. I watched many of my shipmates get escorted to separations because they had asthma but chose to lie and then fell out at RT. But again, if you were never assigned an ICD 10 code saying you have asthma, then you don't and I would save the money doing all the testing for a condition you don't have.
There have been multiple times I have self diagnosed myself or my kids...trust me she will not be marking "yes" to anything unless a physician has assigned a diagnosis code to her.
 
Not sure what other info is on this forum on this but my doctor suspected I had exercise induced asthma when I was 15. I used an inhaler for tennis matches and it really helped. When it came time to apply to USAFA I did above average (for someone without asthma) on both tests they had me do and that was that. No problem. Not sure what others have experienced but it sounds like it shouldn't be a problem
 
@USAFA10s how old were you when you got taken off the inhaler medication? Were you off it for 3 years before applying to the academy? Ive only been off my inhaler for 2 years and I am extremely worried I won't be considered for a waiver until I was off the medication for 3 years. Can you tell me how your situation was?
 
I was not officially on it, but I had used it at age 16 for a high altitude tennis tournament, so less than 2 years. From what I gather from others unless you got an official diagnosis from a specialist AND fail the diagnostic tests, you should be able to get a waiver, at least that was my experience
 
No, I had a prescription, I just got it from my family practice Doctor (aka my dad) instead of a specialist.
 
Thanks for your responses so far @USAFA10s and everyone else. I just have a couple more questions for you. What two tests did you have to complete that you mentioned earlier? And so your actual medical records show that you were prescribed an inhaler? Like, the inhaler prescription is actually in your medical records on your charts, but they were just prescribed by your family practice physician? Because I was prescribed an albuterol inhaler but it was just prescribed by my family doctor. I've never been diagnosed by an asthma specialist. I'm just worried dodmerb is going to see inhaler in my records and give me a really hard time for it. Thanks for your insight.
 
So I don't actually remember the tests I did, I had a whole lot of them (needed a couple other waivers) but I do know that yes, the prescription was in my medical records and I was upfront about it with dodmerb, but because the tests showed above normal results it wasn't a problem
 
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@USAFA10s, So I have recently been medically DQ'ed....I'm kind of freaking out. Were you DQ'ed at first? Was it the waiver authorities that issued the other tests to rule out asthma?
 
@AFLOVE
Take a deep breath and relax. Yes the correct process is DQ. Then AFROTC will automatically ask for the waiver. You do not have to spend [I recommend not to] money on getting the Methacholine test. They may just want the pulmonary function tests. If AFROTC wants methacholine test [some times they do some times they do not] they will send you to get it done in their dime. Based on what you are telling, if it was a one time use and you have been performing well in AFROTC, your chances of getting the waiver is high. But it is a waiting game and so it is time for you to learn some meditation or yoga [to relax :) ]. Good luck, you will be fine [most likely].
 
@AFLOVE
Take a deep breath and relax. Yes the correct process is DQ. Then AFROTC will automatically ask for the waiver. You do not have to spend [I recommend not to] money on getting the Methacholine test. They may just want the pulmonary function tests. If AFROTC wants methacholine test [some times they do some times they do not] they will send you to get it done in their dime. Based on what you are telling, if it was a one time use and you have been performing well in AFROTC, your chances of getting the waiver is high. But it is a waiting game and so it is time for you to learn some meditation or yoga [to relax :) ]. Good luck, you will be fine [most likely].

Yes, this is right and matches with what I remember. I was DQd for asthma AND a heart murmur AND migraines and had to get more tests for all of them to get waivers.
 
Just to close the loop:

I have just found out my waiver was APPROVED!!!:) After almost a YEAR of remedials I can finally breathe again. Unfortunately, I will be a year behind in ROTC, but that's better than being out all together. Thank you everyone for your help.
 
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