possible rheumatoid arthritis, is this cause for DQ?

J

j'smom

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My daughter is a high school senior , looking at ROTC and future military service. She has had mild joint issues and her doctor did a screening test and found she has a "marker" for RA. The soonest she can see a specialist is January, but in the mean time she is apply to schools and needs to apply for ROTC scholarships , and I am concerned that after all this , a RA diagnosis ( and who knows when that would actually come) would disqualify her. Any input?
 
http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/613003p.pdf?ver=2018-05-04-113917-883

This is the link to what I believe are the current accession standards.

She should continue to apply for what she wants in parallel with medical examinations AND solid plans B, C, D which don’t involve meeting military accession standards.

If this is her dream, she shouldn’t give up until a door closes definitively.

The posters on here who know ROTC well should have some good insight.
 
j'smom said:
My daughter is a high school senior , looking at ROTC and future military service. She has had mild joint issues and her doctor did a screening test and found she has a "marker" for RA. The soonest she can see a specialist is January, but in the mean time she is apply to schools and needs to apply for ROTC scholarships , and I am concerned that after all this , a RA diagnosis ( and who knows when that would actually come) would disqualify her. Any input?
Click to expand...

The DODI 6130.03 is written oddly on this topic. The DODI says a history of RA is DQ. I think the way it'll be applied is history of or current RA is DQ. The Army Regulation and USN MANMED is written such that history of or current RA is DQ.

The thing about "markers" of RA is some of them are non-specific. Other rheumatologic conditions such as lupus, reactive arthritis, ankyloses spondyloarthritis, etc can cause these markers to be "positive." There are markers out there that, if positive, have a high probably of being RA. Was the anti-CCP test used to diagnosis your DD?

A waiver could be possible (never say never), but the symptoms would have to be very mild and not require meds. Also, there must not be any boney pathology on imaging studies. What I just listed isn't an exhaustive list of what will be required in a waiver packet. I'm just giving an idea of the considerations.

I'm not a rheumatologist but what I recall learning about the disease process is you really don't "treat" RA. It's going to progress. You can take meds that can slow progress (btw, these meds are generally not allowed in deployed environments) and alleviate symptoms. Some RA progress faster than others. Some go into remission and flare-up periodically. Being diagnosed at a young age has worse prognosis. It's all these "unknowns" that make the military wary about RA.

Finally, the doctor said "rheumatoid arthritis" and NOT "juvenile rheumatoid arthritis", correct? The latter is a different animal and kids generally outgrow it in adulthood.
 
Thank you for your response. The doctor was concerned about some type of "reactive arthritis" and said that she tested positive for ANA - therefore it could be RA. We go to an immunologist in January and will hopefully get more specific testing and results. But from what I understand - it sounds like she may as well go for ROTC and see what happens , since there is no way to know now how things will turn out - the diagnosis is up in the air at this point and if she does have RA and a waiver may or may not happen . she will just have to go forward and see how things play out.
 
GoCubbies said:
The DODI 6130.03 is written oddly on this topic. The DODI says a history of RA is DQ. I think the way it'll be applied is history of or current RA is DQ. The Army Regulation and USN MANMED is written such that history of or current RA is DQ.

The thing about "markers" of RA is some of them are non-specific. Other rheumatologic conditions such as lupus, reactive arthritis, ankyloses spondyloarthritis, etc can cause these markers to be "positive." There are markers out there that, if positive, have a high probably of being RA. Was the anti-CCP test used to diagnosis your DD?

A waiver could be possible (never say never), but the symptoms would have to be very mild and not require meds. Also, there must not be any boney pathology on imaging studies. What I just listed isn't an exhaustive list of what will be required in a waiver packet. I'm just giving an idea of the considerations.

I'm not a rheumatologist but what I recall learning about the disease process is you really don't "treat" RA. It's going to progress. You can take meds that can slow progress (btw, these meds are generally not allowed in deployed environments) and alleviate symptoms. Some RA progress faster than others. Some go into remission and flare-up periodically. Being diagnosed at a young age has worse prognosis. It's all these "unknowns" that make the military wary about RA.

Finally, the doctor said "rheumatoid arthritis" and NOT "juvenile rheumatoid arthritis", correct? The latter is a different animal and kids generally outgrow it in adulthood.
Click to expand...
Hi! I am a 22 year old adult now, but when I was 18 years old I was accepted into the Air Force Academy in 2016. However, I lost my spot at the academy because medical took longer than the application process itself. Anyways, I wad DQed for JRA "juvenile rheumatoid arthritis". I even continued to a four year university at NC State because I was in AFROTC and lost my type 2 ROTC scholarship as well. Finally, I tried enlisting into the Air Force at 20 years old and still got DQed. Anyways, I was diagnosed with JRA at 12 after I broke a collar bone in wrestling. After I was 14 years old, my JRA went into remission using methotrexate and NSAIDS. I've been in "remission" with no relapse since then. My DQ was basically "permanent" with no waiver from my understanding due to "history of RA". Your post sounds like there could be a possible waiver if you are one of those people who "outgrew" RA as an adult. I fit that description. Currently, I'm at Beale AFB with my spouse who is AD Air Force. It is still my dream to join the military even if it isn't through the Academy or ROTC. Do I have a case?
 
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