DODMERB Asthma Questions

[LH2026]

Hello,

I was recently notified that I earned a four year AROTC scholarship to the college that I am heading to next fall and I am currently in the process of filling out the DODMERB questionnaire. That's all well and good, but I'm concerned about my history regarding asthma. I had what doctors believed to be an attack when I was three years old, and was put on medication after that. All my life it has been very well controlled. I had no issues regarding physical exertion in a variety of environments. I was on the varsity rowing, xc skiing, and lacrosse teams, I max the APFT, I've done half marathons before, and I passed the fire department physical just fine. I have never had an attack in my life, been hampered by, or felt any symptoms of asthma. I was on the minimum dose for mild asthma for my childhood and early teens before being fully taken off and declared asthma free about 16 months ago. The reason I remained on meds all that time was based on the results of breathing/spirometry tests that were normal and have been for years, but my old doctor still wanted to be careful. The cycle when I was on medication was "he's doing very well on this very low dose, but let's just keep him on it to be safe and then re-evaluate". Like I said I have been off meds for almost a year and a half now, and I have noticed no difference. I have a letter from a specialist I was seeing that says I had very mild childhood asthma that was not symptomatic and did not preclude me from anything and now do not have active asthma. My issue is that I still was prescribed medication past my 13th birthday (18 now, officially taken off meds and declared asthma free at 16). I am honestly pretty confused by the criteria for waivers in regards to ROTC, and the way I understand it, it can be unpredictable. Service is everything to me, it has been for as long as I can remember. I don't care about going to an SA or to a specific college as long as I get my chance to serve. I would really appreciate any input from anybody as to what their thoughts/advice/course of action would be.

Thank you for your time.

 

[justdoit19]

Don’t worry, you will get help here, soon. You will need to work through the process, and it’ll take a minute. But relax and do what is asked.

Good luck!!

 

[MullenLE]

Send me an email: lawrence.e.mullen.civ@mail.mil; provide complete name and last 4 SSN; provide the text of your Parent's posting above to YOUR email. The subject line of the email should be “LH2026 - SAF = DoDMERB asthma questions“ Do NOT embed links in your email as I will not be able to view those.

 

[MullenLE]

Answered

 

[Sonicdoughboy]

Send me an email: lawrence.e.mullen.civ@mail.mil; provide complete name and last 4 SSN; provide the text of your Parent's posting above to YOUR email. The subject line of the email should be “LH2026 - SAF = DoDMERB asthma questions“ Do NOT embed links in your email as I will not be able to view those.

Mr. Mullen,

I am in a very similar situation to the original poster. I have won a 4 year AROTC scholarship and have my DoDMERB physical scheduled for Wednesday the 1st.

I was diagnosed with mild intermittent asthma around the age of 10 due to some wheezing during exercise in the cold. I have never had an asthma attack, but was prescribed a few different medications for regular preventative use.

As far as I can tell from my records, the only medication I was prescribed after age 13 was Albuterol. This was mostly precautionary, because I haven’t used an inhaler for at least 2 years, and my records say as much. It’s very likely I haven’t used it since I was 12, although I can’t remember exactly when I stopped. If I have used it since 12, it has been sporadic and rare. Furthermore, I have pulmonary function test results as early as age 12 that came back normal.

Unfortunately, I was prescribed Albuterol until last October, when my prescription was last filled (although never picked up as far as I know). Furthermore, asthma is still listed as an “active problem” on my most recent physical (last month), even though the doctor notes that I seem to have “outgrown” it.

I have competed in soccer and distance running for years, and asthma has not been a consideration since middle school. I am working on getting a note from my doctor saying that I no longer have asthma, and may visit a specialist to get some tests confirming this.

I realize that asthma after age 13 is a DQ, so I will likely need to get a waiver from AROTC. If you have any advice, I would really appreciate it. I can send you an email as the original poster has, but I thought I should ask here first.

 

[MullenLE]

This is why we we ask you to get examined and have your medical history evaluated. When we get the results, we'll do that.
Send me an email: lawrence.e.mullen.civ@mail.mil; provide complete name and last 4 SSN; provide the text of your Parent's posting above to YOUR email. The subject line of the email should be “Sonicdoughboy - SAF DoDMERB asthma questions= DoDMERB asthma questions“ Do NOT embed links in your email as I will not be able to view those.

 

[LH2026]

Hello,

I was recently notified that I earned a four year AROTC scholarship to the college that I am heading to next fall and I am currently in the process of filling out the DODMERB questionnaire. That's all well and good, but I'm concerned about my history regarding asthma. I had what doctors believed to be an attack when I was three years old, and was put on medication after that. All my life it has been very well controlled. I had no issues regarding physical exertion in a variety of environments. I was on the varsity rowing, xc skiing, and lacrosse teams, I max the APFT, I've done half marathons before, and I passed the fire department physical just fine. I have never had an attack in my life, been hampered by, or felt any symptoms of asthma. I was on the minimum dose for mild asthma for my childhood and early teens before being fully taken off and declared asthma free about 16 months ago. The reason I remained on meds all that time was based on the results of breathing/spirometry tests that were normal and have been for years, but my old doctor still wanted to be careful. The cycle when I was on medication was "he's doing very well on this very low dose, but let's just keep him on it to be safe and then re-evaluate". Like I said I have been off meds for almost a year and a half now, and I have noticed no difference. I have a letter from a specialist I was seeing that says I had very mild childhood asthma that was not symptomatic and did not preclude me from anything and now do not have active asthma. My issue is that I still was prescribed medication past my 13th birthday (18 now, officially taken off meds and declared asthma free at 16). I am honestly pretty confused by the criteria for waivers in regards to ROTC, and the way I understand it, it can be unpredictable. Service is everything to me, it has been for as long as I can remember. I don't care about going to an SA or to a specific college as long as I get my chance to serve. I would really appreciate any input from anybody as to what their thoughts/advice/course of action would be.

Thank you for your time.

I wanted to leave an update here. DODMERB had me do an additional examination and spirometry test before and after receiving a bronchodilator. My test was good to go and the doctor looked over my complete medical records which I brought with me. All that got submitted to DODMERB, and about a month and a half later I was notified that my waiver had been granted.

Some notes about this that might help others:
1. I was not asked to bring my medical records, I was told that I could bring them but that they were not needed. I decided to because I thought it might help. It seems to have made a difference in my case. My complete records included previous spirometry tests that the doctor indicated were especially helpful.
2. The doctor examining me told me that I would either be approved after that point (finishing the examination) or that the Army would request an additional test, most likely a methacholine challenge. He said that in the cases of healthy and competitive candidates it is more common for them to go straight through, as what happened in my case. I have not met anyone who was recently assigned to do an MCT first thing, it seems that the bronchodilator spirometry tests are being used more now compared to a few years back.
3. I brought along letters from coaches, along with a letter from my doctor and a previous asthma specialist. As I have been told, the contracted doctor examining me didn't care about the letters from coaches.
4. When getting letters from specialists and doctors relating to asthma, their wording can play a huge role. I was told by the examining doctor that there are lots of ways for providers to "cover themselves" with specific wording. I was able to get a letter from my primary care doctor and a specialist plainly stating I am and have been asthma free. I think it's best to sit down with your provider and talk it through since there is so much nuance with cases of asthma.
5. If you are doing the spirometry test, just look around online a bit to make sure you are doing it right and have the right form for it.
6. Don't bother with DODMERB Consultants. I reached out to them a few times with no response before I saw more posts here about them being unreliable. I don't think they are even active anymore since it has been around five months since I reached out.
7. Timing varies a lot. I spoke to another recent cadet (current MS1) who went through the same process as me, but they did not get a notification about their waiver after the spirometry test for months. They didn't need to take an additional test or anything, it just took time.
8. My experience is with Army ROTC. I have heard that service academies tend to be harder with waivers.

Be patient, don't freak out, keep up to date with your portal and email. When DODMERB asks you for stuff be prompt. Sometimes you won't get an email about your portal being updated. Get letters from professionals, use the experiences and resources on this forum. However, one of the least helpful things I found myself doing was trying to compare my chances to other people that I saw here who had received or been refused waivers. There is way too much nuance to do that, you'll just work yourself up. Focus on what you can control, and don't give up. If you have any questions about this process from the applicant level I am happy to help in any way I can.