Just found out treatment for depression was instead labeled as adjustment disorder, now have another dq

S

Scoot27

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After going inpatient for depression incited by a really screwy divorce paired with a (surgically resolved shortly after inpatient) medical condition (PANDAS), I started seeing a therapist, and then switched after two years when parents couldn't agree on something insurance related (i dont remember what). Saw new therapist for about 1 1/2 - 2 years, will be off shortly, as they think I've been just fine for almost a year, just parents pushing to stay on kept me on. Anyway, when discussing with therapist how I would go about getting a letter from her in a few years when I need to get a waiver for depression, she tells me that she never actually thought I had depression, and she thought i didn't meet criteria for it, so instead she diagnosed with adjustment disorder because of really bad divorce for insurance purposes. This hurts me and harms me in a way, because now I have another dq for more than 6 month adjustment disorder treatment, but I now apparently havent had counseling for depression for about 6 1/2 - 7 years from time of application.

Does anyone have any advice on how to navigate this or on what this could mean, because at this point I now need 4 waivers, 2 for relatively minor things from long time ago, not too concerned about them, depression with inpatient long time ago, light medication until about 2 3/4 years from application time, counseling for depression for around 2 years after inpatient, (will check if they labeled adjustment disorder as well), and now this.
Input is appreciated, thank you!
 
Scoot27 said:
After going inpatient for depression incited by a really screwy divorce paired with a (surgically resolved shortly after inpatient) medical condition (PANDAS), I started seeing a therapist, and then switched after two years when parents couldn't agree on something insurance related (i dont remember what). Saw new therapist for about 1 1/2 - 2 years, will be off shortly, as they think I've been just fine for almost a year, just parents pushing to stay on kept me on. Anyway, when discussing with therapist how I would go about getting a letter from her in a few years when I need to get a waiver for depression, she tells me that she never actually thought I had depression, and she thought i didn't meet criteria for it, so instead she diagnosed with adjustment disorder because of really bad divorce for insurance purposes. This hurts me and harms me in a way, because now I have another dq for more than 6 month adjustment disorder treatment, but I now apparently havent had counseling for depression for about 6 1/2 - 7 years from time of application.

Does anyone have any advice on how to navigate this or on what this could mean, because at this point I now need 4 waivers, 2 for relatively minor things from long time ago, not too concerned about them, depression with inpatient long time ago, light medication until about 2 3/4 years from application time, counseling for depression for around 2 years after inpatient, (will check if they labeled adjustment disorder as well), and now this.
Input is appreciated, thank you!
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Have you contacted DODMERB to get direct answers on your questions? How did that go? I think you can discuss with them that you have had diagnosed depression, diagnosed Adjustment Disorder and years of therapy tied to that diagnosis, suicidal ideations/ multiple inpatient treatment stays for mental health, a prior related medication, years of therapy. I think you deserve to know your options and going right to the authority/definitive source to DODMERB with full disclosure is a way to confirm which, if any of these, might hold you back/ DQ you from serving as an officer.

You should confirm the latest DODMERB DQ standards for Adjustment disorder -for example: DQ "D231.20, History of Adjustment Disorder is defined in part as history of a single adjustment disorder if treated or symptomatic within the previous 6 months. That "or" I think means that a single disorder that was treated is a DQ. But I'm just an anonymous person who self-identifies as a non-expert. Go-Directly-To-The-Source and find out. Please let us know what you find.

Good luck to you and thanks for your willingness to serve. People go through hard times and recover/ thrive. As a child you're not expected to have all skillsets of a seasoned adult and what you described can be traumatic / a lot to take. Sounds like you're on a very healthy path and have made great strides/ continue to make progress - continue to do so - keep it up, and again best of luck to you.
 
Herman_Snerd said:
Have you contacted DODMERB to get direct answers on your questions? How did that go? I think you can discuss with them that you have had diagnosed depression, diagnosed Adjustment Disorder and years of therapy tied to that diagnosis, suicidal ideations/ multiple inpatient treatment stays for mental health, a prior related medication, years of therapy. I think you deserve to know your options and going right to the authority/definitive source to DODMERB with full disclosure is a way to confirm which, if any of these, might hold you back/ DQ you from serving as an officer.

You should confirm the latest DODMERB DQ standards for Adjustment disorder -for example: DQ "D231.20, History of Adjustment Disorder is defined in part as history of a single adjustment disorder if treated or symptomatic within the previous 6 months. That "or" I think means that a single disorder that was treated is a DQ. But I'm just an anonymous person who self-identifies as a non-expert. Go-Directly-To-The-Source and find out. Please let us know what you find.

Good luck to you and thanks for your willingness to serve. People go through hard times and recover/ thrive. As a child you're not expected to have all skillsets of a seasoned adult and what you described can be traumatic / a lot to take. Sounds like you're on a very healthy path and have made great strides/ continue to make progress - continue to do so - keep it up, and again best of luck to you.
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Thank you, I have looked over the recent dq standards for adjustment disorder, what it said is that "History of a single adjustment disorder if treated or symptomatic within the previous 6 months, or any history of chronic (lasting longer than 6 months) or recurrent episodes of adjustment disorders". Mine qualifies as chronic due to being unable to get off of counseling in time because of parents.

I am planning on contacting DODMERB with dad, but am unable to find out how to contact them. If anyone has a number or email associated with them that can be contacted by people looking for information, please pass it along

I am also wondering how DODMERB looks at what was going on in one's life apart from what you mention in your personal statement, as stated I had several bad things come my way at once, and the reason it went as poorly as it did (PANDAS with a strep outbreak at the time) was paired with a horrible divorce. Does DODMERB just look at the actual medical history, or do they take into account personal life at that time, and factors that can impact that.

I know that getting waivers for what I've had will be a challenge, and have a plan B (rotc programs if waivers can be achieved but make me not as competitive as 3Q candidate for an academy leading to rejection) and a Plan C if a waiver is denied for solidifying my position and applying in freshman year of college, and Plan D which is just standard college, but overall I am definitely hopeful with the information I've received regarding this process. Thank you for your time and advice.
 
Scoot27 said:
I am planning on contacting DODMERB with dad, but am unable to find out how to contact them. If anyone has a number or email associated with them that can be contacted by people looking for information, please pass it along

I know that getting waivers for what I've had will be a challenge, and have a plan B (rotc programs if waivers can be achieved but make me not as competitive as 3Q candidate for an academy leading to rejection) and a Plan C if a waiver is denied for solidifying my position and applying in freshman year of college, and Plan D which is just standard college, but overall I am definitely hopeful with the information I've received regarding this process. Thank you for your time and advice.
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LMK if these don't work and we'll find you another contact method.
1. DODMERB official site
2. DODMERB email contact:
3. DODMERB Phone: 719-333-3562

Couple of comments:
-To commission through any of the ROTCs one needs to meet all standards, so if you are DQ'd by DODMERB via an application to a service academy, you would have challenge activating a scholarship in a ROTC program unless those DQs are addressed. If you only apply ROTC and not SAs (like my son) there too you'll have DODMERB exams. There are instances where a waiver appeal is pending and people join on at ROTC/ get started, but they are at-risk of not having the scholarship activated until and unless the waiver is granted - so they may end up paying for the fall semester / may end up being dropped if the waiver is not ultimately granted. I do like the path of confirming exact timelines/ standards and if you'll qualify after a period of time, both applying and reapplying - just make sure directly with DODMERB if you'll be eligible with today's standards so you know.

WRT your question on whether DODMERB takes factors into account like the disease PANDAS, a divorce in your household. Not to be a broken record, but please ask your DODMERB questions to DODMERB directly. I started to write up a response but this is too fragile and too important, as is your health, to not be discussing this the DODMERB source and your health care team itself.

Good luck to you.
 
It's crazy how something as important as mental health can get tangled up in bureaucracy. Finding the right treatment can feel like navigating a maze blindfolded, and this kind of confusion just makes it worse.
 
just clarifying, what grade in school are you in now? just trying to better understand how the timeline of events intersects with your application timeline (mental health provider here).

the phrase "chronic adjustment disorder" is kind of weird to me bc technically if something is going on beyond 6m a mental health provider has to update the dx to something else (ie, generalized anxiety disorder, depression etc).
 
(and I'm doing my best not to jump on my soapbox about mental health and insurance- as a provider, I work outside the insurance system for this exact reason, so that I am not forced to provide a dx for people who don't really have one and then have that following them around afterwards)
 
hopefulhockeymom said:
just clarifying, what grade in school are you in now? just trying to better understand how the timeline of events intersects with your application timeline (mental health provider here).

the phrase "chronic adjustment disorder" is kind of weird to me bc technically if something is going on beyond 6m a mental health provider has to update the dx to something else (ie, generalized anxiety disorder, depression etc).
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Post history for @Scoot27 indicates he's in 9th grade.
 
Thanks for highlighting that part @AROTC Parent. My comments below are some combined thoughts as both a parent that has been through this process for the last two cycles as well as a psychologist- but keep in mind that this is NOT medical advice, and I am not YOUR psychologist. Just some ideas to think about it!

1- I find it remarkable that you are only in 9th grade and that you have this level of forethought and planning. I think this speaks volumes about your maturity and goal orientation. Way to go!

2- After doing a bit of a dive on your other posts, I was glad to see that many respondents encouraged you that NO MATTER WHAT, your health and wellbeing is paramount. Please don't ever delay seeking care for any kind of concern due to worries about how it would impact your application.

3- As others have suggested, it might be useful to start making those connections with DODMERB (I think someone put contact info in a comment somewhere) as well as the regional admissions officers for whichever academies you choose to apply, just so you can outline your situation and get REAL guidance from people in the system.

4 - As others have said, don't just quit your care abruptly, even if you think you are no longer in need as that will raise red flags. Work with your providers to create a thoughtful discharge plan (ie, going down on meds, spacing out therapy appts to once a month, once a quarter). You still have some time before the 2 year prior to application window. This will also give your providers some time to document that you are doing well without medication/therapy support.

5- I said I wasn't going to get on my soapbox, but I will jump up for a moment here. The whole insurance/diagnosing thing is really hard. It sounds like you were continuing to go to therapy bc it was a positive relationship with a trusted adult even though you were no longer feeling in need of active therapy per se. There are SO many people who fall into this category, and I hate that our insurance system requires that to be filed with a diagnosis in order for the provider to be paid. I know you also mentioned that your mom is feeling very strongly about you continuing to have that kind of relationship with a provider. If she really doubles down on you having this kind of connection with a provider, one way of doing that might be to work with someone who is an "athletic performance coach" or something strength-based like that. This would likely have to be a different person than your current therapist, and would be out of pocket (full pay, would likely be 150 - 200+ per hour). Many times these people are sports psychologists, so although you would be going for performance mindset coaching type of experience, they would have the training to detect if something was going awry. TO BE CLEAR- I SUSPECT THIS WOULD BE OK WITH DODMERB, BUT I DONT *ACTUALLY* KNOW - DEFINITELY INVESTIGATE THIS AND DO NOT RELY ON ME HERE! Other families may have experience with this, if their applicant has worked with this kind of performance coach at some point. If at some point you would like to connect with someone who offers this kind of performance coaching type of support, please feel free to PM me and I would be happy to help you and your family connect with someone.

6- If you run into issues with DODMERB when you are applying at the end of high school, don't give up the ship. You may be in this for the long haul, if that is what you want. If this medical stuff turns out to be a hurdle during your first application attempt, I could see a path forward for you with going through college at a Senior Military College and doing ROTC (whether with a scholarship or as a college programmer) and then moving forward with OCS after graduation. At that point, you would potentially have YEARS of evidence of being able to perform well in a military context. Our daughter applied for USNA last year and got the TD and spent the last year at Norwich in VT. She had an AMAZING experience there and truly loved it. I would definitely suggest putting that school on your radar. They offer a lot of summer camp experiences and other leadership opportunities that would be both great exposure to the school and be nice things to list on an application to the academies, ROTC and the SMCs.

Kudos to you, @Scoot27. I'm really impressed with your forethought and maturity and no matter what happens you are on the path to success!
 
Kids are over-diagnosed these days. So are adults. We as a society are also over-medicated. Patients and parents present to their healthcare provider knowing about the burden of the moral and technological imperative that something must be done. The provider knows they know, so feels the obligation to do that something. The patient and/or their parents want to walk away with a bottle of pills or an order for an Xray or MRI. The provider provides.

This isn't a cost of healthcare rant but a driver of exploding healthcare costs is over prescribing. The doc however has no choice these days. A patient checks into the emergency department with a headache for three days, no trauma, and no other symptoms. Before the doc even sees or touches the patient, a CT of the head is ordered. After the million dollar workup, the patient leaves with a migraine diagnosis. Migraine sounds more exotic than just a regular old headache. The fact that the patient actually had muscle contraction headaches, AKA tension headaches which we all get, is beside the point. The doc prescribed three anti-migraine medications and a neurology referral. All the patient really needed was acetaminophen and reassurance. Without the million dollar workup the provider risks a lawsuit and of course, a missed brain tumor.

It's a shame some kids grow up with a misdiagnosis in their record. I have students with a medical list containing things I've never heard of. One kid is allergic to the air we breathe. My 10 year old grandson is fidgety as heck. Always moving. Couldn't pay attention if it was free. Early on I told my daughter to NOT LET THEM DIAGNOSE HIM WITH ADHD AND PUT HIM ON POISONOUS MEDS. He's still a basket case but a genius and multi sport athlete. He's doing just fine without any influence from imperatives.
 
Devil Doc said:
Kids are over-diagnosed these days. So are adults. We as a society are also over-medicated. Patients and parents present to their healthcare provider knowing about the burden of the moral and technological imperative that something must be done. The provider knows they know, so feels the obligation to do that something. The patient and/or their parents want to walk away with a bottle of pills or an order for an Xray or MRI. The provider provides.

This isn't a cost of healthcare rant but a driver of exploding healthcare costs is over prescribing. The doc however has no choice these days. A patient checks into the emergency department with a headache for three days, no trauma, and no other symptoms. Before the doc even sees or touches the patient, a CT of the head is ordered. After the million dollar workup, the patient leaves with a migraine diagnosis. Migraine sounds more exotic than just a regular old headache. The fact that the patient actually had muscle contraction headaches, AKA tension headaches which we all get, is beside the point. The doc prescribed three anti-migraine medications and a neurology referral. All the patient really needed was acetaminophen and reassurance. Without the million dollar workup the provider risks a lawsuit and of course, a missed brain tumor.

It's a shame some kids grow up with a misdiagnosis in their record. I have students with a medical list containing things I've never heard of. One kid is allergic to the air we breathe. My 10 year old grandson is fidgety as heck. Always moving. Couldn't pay attention if it was free. Early on I told my daughter to NOT LET THEM DIAGNOSE HIM WITH ADHD AND PUT HIM ON POISONOUS MEDS. He's still a basket case but a genius and multi sport athlete. He's doing just fine without any influence from imperatives.
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A case of fitting everything into a box.
 
Thank you all, as of now, I am currently done seeing therapist, she concurred I didn't need it and we met with parents, we will meet up in about a month to check in and to write a letter of rec (so its more up to date because she knows me now but in three years it might be a little foggy). Currently off of 504 with file stating I didn't use accomadations and was stable the entire time. I appreciate all of your time and kind words. Currently have locked down/buttoned up my file and stated that all conditions are resolved and have been in decline for years, just have 2 check-ins this summer to make sure going off of everything is going well (checkins at mom's insistence lol, might be considered treatment and add two months but idk). Overall, I am just glad I got on top of this now rather than later because getting a waiver for inpatient w/ depression and adjustment disorder would have been ny impossible if I started 11th grade. Something to note is that I did not abruptly just stop, medicine levels were going down before hand and were pretty light, but if my mom had her way I'd still be on them. therapy had already gone down in frequency, and 504 was unused.
 
"It's crazy how something as important as mental health can get tangled up in bureaucracy. Finding the right treatment can feel like going through a maze blindfolded, and this kind of confusion just makes it worse."
If you're struggling to get the support you need, remember there are resources out there that can help. Mental health hotlines are a great first step – they can offer confidential advice and point you in the right direction. You shouldn't have to fight this battle alone.

On the bright side, at least you have a diagnosis now, even if it's not the original one. This can be a springboard to finding the treatment that truly works for you. Don't be afraid to advocate for yourself and keep pushing until you get the help you deserve."
 
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