Should we be worried?

L

Landlocked

5-Year Member
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Nov 15, 2013
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I just learned about these forums last night and have been reading for over four hours. The more I read, the more I wish I would have known about them prior to helping my DS fill out his DD 2492!

My DS is a senior, applying to the AFA and for an AFROTC scholarship. His eye exam is Monday and his hearing and medical exam on Tuesday. After reading pages of threads, I'm wondering if he even has a chance to be medically qualified now.

His "yes" responses were for:
1. Allergic to cats - Causes sneezing and itchy eyes. Takes claritin if visiting a friend's house who has a cat.
2. Seasonal hay fever - Causes congestion, sneezing and runny nose. Takes claritin when mowing the lawn or on spring/summer days when pollen counts are high. No other complications.
3. Concussion - Aug 2009 at 13 years old when he slipped and fell on wet, outdoor basketball court. Was seen at ER. Amnesia lasted less than 2 hours, headache lasted until the next day. No other symptoms after that and he returned to school after just missing one day.
4. Acne on face - takes minocycline hcl (antibiotic) since 2010.
5. Hives - April 2013, unknown cause, treated with methylprednisolone and they never came back.
6. ADD - took concerta from Aug 2004 - April 2012 when we found out it was reason for DQ. In the 18 onths that he has been off medicine, his grades stayed all A's except his two AP courses which were B's. He scored a 33 on ACT test this fall so focusing is no longer an issue.

The ADD is the issue I'm most worried about after reading these threads. I'm just sick thinking that if we had known about the medical issues, we would have stopped the concerta in middle school.

Any advice? Should I start requesting medical records now? He was treated at our MTF until 2009 when my husband retired. We went Tricare Standard and started going off base. We still live near the MTF, so I should be able to request copies of records? Since we didn't move, we never received copies.

So, what should we expect to happen now?
Thanks for any insight someone with experience has to offer!
 
I can't offer any advice on your situation but I would recommend that you secure copies of his medical records now so you can react if you get any requests/ remedial/ DQ notifications.
 
Landlocked said:
The ADD is the issue I'm most worried about after reading these threads. I'm just sick thinking that if we had known about the medical issues, we would have stopped the concerta in middle school.
Click to expand...

If the Air Force standards are similar to those of the Army, he should be okay with the ADD history. The typical procedure would be an automatic DQ and/or request for remedials requiring you to document that the condition is in the past. The following is from the Army standards:

2–27. Learning, psychiatric and behavioral disorders
a. Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (314), or Perceptual/Learning Disorder(s) (315) does not meet the standard, unless applicant can demonstrate passing academic performance and there has been no use of medication(s) in the previous 12 months. [my bold for emphasis]
 
Sorry, first time using forums so I'm not sure if this should be posted as a new question or continued in this thread.

I contacted our current doctor to request copies of records from 2009 to present. They told me that I could sign their release form and have the records faxed to the reviewing doctor for free. If I want paper copies for myself, I will have to pay $1 per page and allow 2-3 weeks. When DodMERB requests records, do they provide a fax number or will I need the paper copies?

As far as the MTF, I was able to get copies from 2006-2009. His entire file, from 1996-2009 was retired and sent to a St. Louis depository. I can request it be sent back to our MTF but it could take over a year. They told me that the "missing" years of 1996-2006 would all be online and available to DoDMERB since everything was always done on base at MTFs. Is this true? If necessary, can they just look up his records without me worrying about getting hard copies?
 
DODMERB will accept faxes (at least they used to). They have a help desk which you can contact for instructions, including when to send stuff. If your son is over 18 he will need to sign a release allowing you to deal with DODMERB on his behalf.
 
Don't kick yourself over not having stopped the ADD med in middle school. Maybe he needed it then. Maybe if he hadn't been taking it then, he wouldn't be as successful as he is now. You never know...
 
Make sure you get copies of any records pertaining to the Acne with a complete list of the perscriptions he has taken. This could actually be more of an issue then the ADD meds, it's not the Acne that's the big issue, it's what type of medications that are being used. For example, Acutane is a DQ and very difficult to receive a waiver.
 
Landlocked"4. Acne on face - takes minocycline hcl (antibiotic) since 2010."

My DD takes minocycline for minor acne as well. Although she did have two administrative remedials for ankle surgery, the minocycline was not an issue at all. She is DoDMERB "qualified" for USNA, USAFA and USMA.
 
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