allison_1233

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Feb 24, 2019
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Hi,
I'm currently an MS3 at my university. I'm an SMP drilling cadet which was part of my rotc minuteman scholarship and I was just diagnosed with Factor V Leiden, a blood clotting disorder.
I turned my paperwork in on January 16th so it's been about 6 weeks since submitting my paperwork to cadet command. Am I going to get medically disqualified? I'm wondering why it's taking so long to hear back.
My ROTC cadre think I am going to be medically dropped, but I'm nervous and don't know what to think. I was hoping someone on here would have been in a similar situation as me.
 
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Just be honest with your medical evaluators and hope for the best. They have medication for blood clotting disorders so your disorder won't hinder your activities as long as you have the medication. Just ask your general physician for anticoagulants and they'll prescribe you the medication since you already have a diagnosis. Your evaluators will also know this, so be 100% honest. I highly doubt you'll be medically dropped on a disorder with easily accessible treatment. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you don't get dropped.
 
I highly doubt you'll be medically dropped on a disorder with easily accessible treatment.

That's is so far from correct that I felt I needed to step in. Candidates are rejected or dropped for all kinds of afflictions that have readily available treatment. The lens through which the medical issue is viewed is how it could affect training, future deployments, and costs to the military.

I am not sure of your background, but I would suggest being sure of your advice before offering it.

Stealth_81
 
Hi,
I'm currently an MS3 at my university. I'm an SMP drilling cadet which was part of my rotc minuteman scholarship and I was just diagnosed with Factor V Leiden, a blood clotting disorder.
I turned my paperwork in on January 16th so it's been about 6 weeks since submitting my paperwork to cadet command. Am I going to get medically disqualified? I'm wondering why it's taking so long to hear back.
My ROTC cadre think I am going to be medically dropped, but I'm nervous and don't know what to think. I was hoping someone on here would have been in a similar situation as me.

Waivers are possible for anything, but according to the medical standards this would be disqualifying. See page 36 of this:

https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/613003p.pdf?ver=2018-05-04-113917-883

Stealth_81
 
My apologies. I deduced that a condition that can easily be treated with accessible medication won't present itself as a big deal, but obviously, I was wrong.
 
My apologies. I deduced that a condition that can easily be treated with accessible medication won't present itself as a big deal, but obviously, I was wrong.
An honest mistake, but DoD has a very understandable aversion to servicemembers with blood clotting disorders.

You're correct that many treatable conditions are ultimately waived, but something of this calibre would shock me if it were.

Consider OP is on patrol downrange, 2-3 days from the nearest FOB, medicine bottle is lost when MRAP overturns. The next day, on the way back, they are ambushed again, and OP sustains a minor injury from some shrapnel. It's not like asthma, where an unmedicated attack is probably survivable, or a pre-service shoulder injury where pain and/or immobility is the concern.
 
Yeah, I read you loud and clear. Once again, my bad on my fallacy. The most well-known blood disorder, hemophilia, can be treated with replacement therapy, where they simply give you a transfusion with the missing tissue or clotting factor, and other common blood disorders can be treated with the same or with anticoagulants which were the medication I mentioned. Thanks for helping me clear it up and hopefully I don't get medically discharged myself (the DOD list is pretty lengthy lol).
 
Hi,
I'm currently an MS3 at my university. I'm an SMP drilling cadet which was part of my rotc minuteman scholarship and I was just diagnosed with Factor V Leiden, a blood clotting disorder.
I turned my paperwork in on January 16th so it's been about 6 weeks since submitting my paperwork to cadet command. Am I going to get medically disqualified? I'm wondering why it's taking so long to hear back.
My ROTC cadre think I am going to be medically dropped, but I'm nervous and don't know what to think. I was hoping someone on here would have been in a similar situation as me.
Factor V Leiden is not treatable. There's nothing I can do about it, and it doesn't go away either. If I stay in one position too long or go on a long car ride I could develop a clot, or if I take a certain birth control. There's no treatment therapy for this. So knowing that now, what do you guys think will happen? My doctor wrote a letter saying he doesn't think it's a good idea that I'm in the army..
 
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Factor V Leiden is not treatable. There's nothing I can do about it, and it doesn't go away either. If I stay in one position too long or go on a long car ride I could develop a clot, or if I take a certain birth control. There's no treatment therapy for this. So knowing that now, what do you guys think will happen? My doctor wrote a letter saying he doesn't think it's a good idea that I'm in the army..

I am so sorry to hear this; it’s tough to have a health condition such as this at a relatively early age.

I think you already know what the answer is. Military life can be very physical, and it can be lived far from medical help and in demanding settings. The accession health standards are set very high, because if people are already a little bit broken before they come in, their condition can potentially impact the operational readiness, mobility and safety of their unit.
 
Yeah, I read you loud and clear. Once again, my bad on my fallacy. The most well-known blood disorder, hemophilia, can be treated with replacement therapy, where they simply give you a transfusion with the missing tissue or clotting factor, and other common blood disorders can be treated with the same or with anticoagulants which were the medication I mentioned. Thanks for helping me clear it up and hopefully I don't get medically discharged myself (the DOD list is pretty lengthy lol).

Factor V Leiden is not "treatable" at this point. Someone with Factor V Leiden is "hypercoagulable."

That's one of the first things we check when he have a young person who has a deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, or stroke/transient ischemic attack.

There are conditions that put people in a hypercoagulable state such as cancer, pregnancy, Factor V Leiden, prolonged immobilization (eg after surgery, long flights, etc), and protein S/protein C.

You can't give anticoagulants for "treatment" because being on that med makes you non-deployable. The medics downrange will have a hard time keeping you from bleeding out if you're wounded and you're on an anticoagulant.

AR 40-501, para 2-4 specifically says current or history of coagulation defects does not meet the standards.

@allison_1233 You're file is probably undergoing a medical determination right now at Cadet Command. I'm not saying the Command surgeon will or will not determine you meet medical standards for commissioning. I don't know what the command surgeon knows. Your paperwork has to work it's way through the brigade commander for review/approval.

Why did your doctors check for Factor V Leiden? That's not a common lab to get. It's checked really only if you've had some type of thrombotic event.
 
Yeah, I read you loud and clear. Once again, my bad on my fallacy. The most well-known blood disorder, hemophilia, can be treated with replacement therapy, where they simply give you a transfusion with the missing tissue or clotting factor, and other common blood disorders can be treated with the same or with anticoagulants which were the medication I mentioned. Thanks for helping me clear it up and hopefully I don't get medically discharged myself (the DOD list is pretty lengthy lol).

Factor V Leiden is not "treatable" at this point. Someone with Factor V Leiden is "hypercoagulable."

That's one of the first things we check when he have a young person who has a deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, or stroke/transient ischemic attack.

There are conditions that put people in a hypercoagulable state such as cancer, pregnancy, Factor V Leiden, prolonged immobilization (eg after surgery, long flights, etc), and protein S/protein C.

You can't give anticoagulants for "treatment" because being on that med makes you non-deployable. The medics downrange will have a hard time keeping you from bleeding out if you're wounded and you're on an anticoagulant.

AR 40-501, para 2-4 specifically says current or history of coagulation defects does not meet the standards.

@allison_1233 You're file is probably undergoing a medical determination right now at Cadet Command. I'm not saying the Command surgeon will or will not determine you meet medical standards for commissioning. I don't know what the command surgeon knows. Your paperwork has to work it's way through the brigade commander for review/approval.

Why did your doctors check for Factor V Leiden? That's not a common lab to get. It's checked really only if you've had some type of thrombotic event.

So since Factor V puts me in a hypercoaguable state, do you think that disqualifies me?
Also, I was tested because my father just told us that my grandmother was diagnosed with it after multiple blood clots and a history of miscarriages.
I attached my doctor's letter here. I turned this and the test results in to cadet command. I think this letter tells them everything they command surgeon needs to know.
Do you think this will be the deciding factor in kicking me out?
 

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I think this letter tells them everything they command surgeon needs to know.
Do you think this will be the deciding factor in kicking me out?

I don't think anyone hear can give you a definitive answer, but based on what @GoCubbies says, Cadet Command has a difficult decision to make. It has invested a lot in you as an MS3. This works in your favor. On the other hand, if you are not deployable, what would they do with you? If you are medically disenrolled, the good news is that you are less likely to owe your scholarship money back to the government.

Why did they not check this out back when you first did DoDMERB?
 
I hope I am getting this right....I have read elsewhere on this forum that some if not all of the Services have what is called LDO (Limited Duty Officer) availability. If you can enter this somehow, possibly your medical condition would not be so troublesome. From my understanding these are positions that do not deploy, but usually are in a controlled office type setting. It may be an option to ask your Cadre about should your waiver come back denied. Just a thought, maybe it is a way... Good Luck!!
 
I hope I am getting this right....I have read elsewhere on this forum that some if not all of the Services have what is called LDO (Limited Duty Officer) availability. If you can enter this somehow, possibly your medical condition would not be so troublesome. From my understanding these are positions that do not deploy, but usually are in a controlled office type setting. It may be an option to ask your Cadre about should your waiver come back denied. Just a thought, maybe it is a way... Good Luck!!

LDO's are unique to the Navy/USMC and are basically a way to pay a technical expert (typically someone who is already enlisted) more for retention purposes. The only comparable position in the Army would be a Warrant Officer.

LDO's and Warrant Officers are subject to the same medical accession standards as every other servicemember.

LDO's are deployable.

This would not be a viable route for OP, who is in Army ROTC and attempting to retain a regular commission as a reserve officer.
 
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@Tbpxece, Thank You. I knew the Navy had them, but wasn't sure about the other services. Didn't know if the OP was eligible just wanted to offer a possible solution.
 
Yeah, I read you loud and clear. Once again, my bad on my fallacy. The most well-known blood disorder, hemophilia, can be treated with replacement therapy, where they simply give you a transfusion with the missing tissue or clotting factor, and other common blood disorders can be treated with the same or with anticoagulants which were the medication I mentioned. Thanks for helping me clear it up and hopefully I don't get medically discharged myself (the DOD list is pretty lengthy lol).

Factor V Leiden is not "treatable" at this point. Someone with Factor V Leiden is "hypercoagulable."

That's one of the first things we check when he have a young person who has a deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, or stroke/transient ischemic attack.

There are conditions that put people in a hypercoagulable state such as cancer, pregnancy, Factor V Leiden, prolonged immobilization (eg after surgery, long flights, etc), and protein S/protein C.

You can't give anticoagulants for "treatment" because being on that med makes you non-deployable. The medics downrange will have a hard time keeping you from bleeding out if you're wounded and you're on an anticoagulant.

AR 40-501, para 2-4 specifically says current or history of coagulation defects does not meet the standards.

@allison_1233 You're file is probably undergoing a medical determination right now at Cadet Command. I'm not saying the Command surgeon will or will not determine you meet medical standards for commissioning. I don't know what the command surgeon knows. Your paperwork has to work it's way through the brigade commander for review/approval.

Why did your doctors check for Factor V Leiden? That's not a common lab to get. It's checked really only if you've had some type of thrombotic event.

So since Factor V puts me in a hypercoaguable state, do you think that disqualifies me?
Also, I was tested because my father just told us that my grandmother was diagnosed with it after multiple blood clots and a history of miscarriages.
I attached my doctor's letter here. I turned this and the test results in to cadet command. I think this letter tells them everything they command surgeon needs to know.
Do you think this will be the deciding factor in kicking me out?


Can you tell from the lab slip (or the doctor) if you're homozygous or heterozygous for Factor V Leiden? I know the Army doesn't waiver homozygous Factor V Leiden.
 
Yeah, I read you loud and clear. Once again, my bad on my fallacy. The most well-known blood disorder, hemophilia, can be treated with replacement therapy, where they simply give you a transfusion with the missing tissue or clotting factor, and other common blood disorders can be treated with the same or with anticoagulants which were the medication I mentioned. Thanks for helping me clear it up and hopefully I don't get medically discharged myself (the DOD list is pretty lengthy lol).

Factor V Leiden is not "treatable" at this point. Someone with Factor V Leiden is "hypercoagulable."

That's one of the first things we check when he have a young person who has a deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, or stroke/transient ischemic attack.

There are conditions that put people in a hypercoagulable state such as cancer, pregnancy, Factor V Leiden, prolonged immobilization (eg after surgery, long flights, etc), and protein S/protein C.

You can't give anticoagulants for "treatment" because being on that med makes you non-deployable. The medics downrange will have a hard time keeping you from bleeding out if you're wounded and you're on an anticoagulant.

AR 40-501, para 2-4 specifically says current or history of coagulation defects does not meet the standards.

@allison_1233 You're file is probably undergoing a medical determination right now at Cadet Command. I'm not saying the Command surgeon will or will not determine you meet medical standards for commissioning. I don't know what the command surgeon knows. Your paperwork has to work it's way through the brigade commander for review/approval.

Why did your doctors check for Factor V Leiden? That's not a common lab to get. It's checked really only if you've had some type of thrombotic event.

So since Factor V puts me in a hypercoaguable state, do you think that disqualifies me?
Also, I was tested because my father just told us that my grandmother was diagnosed with it after multiple blood clots and a history of miscarriages.
I attached my doctor's letter here. I turned this and the test results in to cadet command. I think this letter tells them everything they command surgeon needs to know.
Do you think this will be the deciding factor in kicking me out?


Can you tell from the lab slip (or the doctor) if you're homozygous or heterozygous for Factor V Leiden? I know the Army doesn't waiver homozygous Factor V Leiden.
It's heterozygous.
 
I'm not in a medical waiver recommendation position, so I don't know the medical reviewers' decision process.

What I can tell you is homozygous is typically not waivered for the Army. The risk for a thrombotic event is just too high.

There is a chance the medical determination will find you medically qualified for commissioning with heterozygous Factor V Leiden.
 
allison -- best of luck and best wishes to you. I hope you realize you are getting incredible real time advice. Thank you for being willing to serve. Keep pushing!
 
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