Stellar PFT by Pulmonologist vs. wheezing during Methacholine CT on 7th round - Pass or Fail?

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USCGAx

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She's a high school athlete with no asthma symptoms post 9 years old? A state board certified pulmonologist examined and cleared her following the chest xray and pulmonary function test. The concern was that there may be an allergic reaction to cat dander. Experienced wheezing and labored breathing after 7th round of the 10 round MCCT. Unfortunately, just getting over a cold and was offered the opportunity to return for a retest (additional fee, of course). Is MCCT failure a final nail and/or should we opt for the retest? Didn't want to dash hopes until all options were exhausted. Thank you in advance.
 
USCGAx said:
She's a high school athlete with no asthma symptoms post 9 years old? A state board certified pulmonologist examined and cleared her following the chest xray and pulmonary function test. The concern was that there may be an allergic reaction to cat dander. Didn't want to dash hopes until all options were exhausted. Thank you in advance.
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I’m not sure I understand the question, can you clarify?
 
She had breathing difficulty after cat exposure and was diagnosed with asthma @ 9 years old. No incidence since that time. DODMERB requested MCCT to approve final appointment. During MCCT, wheezing and chest tightness after the 7th Methacholine breathing session. However, 2 weeks prior, pulmonogist examined and noted that chest xray and pulmonary function test show excellent lung function.

Hope that helps...and thanks for taking notice.
 
USCGAx said:
She had breathing difficulty after cat exposure and was diagnosed with asthma @ 9 years old. No incidence since that time. DODMERB requested MCCT to approve final appointment. During MCCT, wheezing and chest tightness after the 7th Methacholine breathing session. However, 2 weeks prior, pulmonogist examined and noted that chest xray and pulmonary function test show excellent lung function.

Hope that helps...and thanks for taking notice.
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So I'm thinking she's waiting for a final decision on a waiver for an appointment to the USCGA based on your member name? I'm sorry I don't know enough about the MCCT to comment on pass or fail, maybe someone else can. What I can say is that waivers can be granted or not depending on the needs of the SA or specific ROTC program. They can vary from year to year. Some Branches are more generous depending on their needs at that time. One may grant the waiver when another one won't. Tell her not to get discouraged and hang in there until she's gone through the entire process! The waiting is the hardest, I've been there, so I feel your pain!
 
Only a DODMERB official can answer your question. The rest here is pure speculation.

She needs to complete the process and then see what DODMERB determines. Then, if necessary, there may be other steps.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
I appreciate all of the input and encouragement. You're right, much of this is "hurry up and wait". The other part is having demonstrated & excelled in physical fitness through 4 years of high school atheletics and face the prospect of being denied an appointment due to a breathing test is difficult for her to accept. She did what I suggested and thought was necessary for admitance to the USNA; leadership, scholarship, athleticism, and character. We're waiting and hoping for a positive result...
 
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USCGAx said:
I appreciate all of the input and encouragement. You're right, much of this is "hurry up and wait". The other part is having demonstrated & excelled in physical fitness through 4 years of high school atheletics and face the prospect of being denied an appointment due to a breathing test is difficult for her to accept. She did what I suggested and thought was necessary for admitance to the USNA; leadership, scholarship, athleticism, and character. We're waiting and hoping for a positive result...
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Sadly, you're not alone. Waiting for waiver approvals is the worst! Especially when that's the only thing preventing them from receiving an official offer! Best wishes for your DD!
 
I would have her do the retest when completely healthy. My dd went through this 3 years ago. She had to retest on an exercise stress test because she did the first one when recovering from a cold. She retested when healthy (first test was borderline in one area) and had her waiver within a week. Pulmonologist and respiratory therapist emphasized not testing when recovering from respiratory illness. DD did pulmonologist visits, PFT, MCCT, and exercise stress tests (she did 2- treadmill when recovering from illness and bike when healthy). Copays were well worth it!
 
The comments are very helpful. Hoping that anyone and everyone in a similar position experience a positive outcome. The retest may be as soon as next week. One extraordinary takeaway from this forum is to have a Plan B. Fortunately, we do. However we plan to exhaust all resources to implement Plan A (USNA) before acceding.
 
How did you get to do the exercise stress test? Did DoDMRB recommend it or did you do that on your own? My waiver just got denied for methacholine but the results were super iffy ( they went up then down then back up again).
 
ButterflyWaffles said:
How did you get to do the exercise stress test? Did DoDMRB recommend it or did you do that on your own? My waiver just got denied for methacholine but the results were super iffy ( they went up then down then back up again).
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DODMERB requested it. Any pulmonologist should be able to prescribe it, but we did have to travel to a regional medical center to get it done. The way the tests were described to us was that the MCCT is a brief picture of lung function and is not always accurate; whereas, the exercise stress test was a better picture of lung function because it tested the lungs as they were stressed over time.
 
ButterflyWaffles said:
they denied my waiver. Should I do this test as an appeal?
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Unfortunately, we seem to have lost our resident DODMERB expert Mr. Mullen.

But for those who read these posts, or those seeking answers, specificity of word choice is key here. When you say "they denied my waiver" that can mean several things.

Once the DODMERB process is initiated, DODMERB may ask for additional information (AMI) or may ask for a follow up exam before they make an initial assessment of a person meets DOD standards or is disqualified.

Then it shifts to each service component whether or not they will grant a waiver. Each service is unique. And within the Navy, USNA uses a slightly different process than NROTC. For NROTC, it is best to contact your unit or prospective unit to advocate on your behalf.
 
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