Waiver for Anti-Depressants

J

jwilson5

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5-Year Member
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Dec 8, 2008
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I'm a freshman in college currently trying to get accepted into the Army ROTC program at my school. So far I have passed/been accepted for all other parts of my application- I have a pt score of 292, I'm present for all functions, and I even have been issued all my gear. I act like a contracted cadet, so my performance is not the issue. I'm not receiving the financial aid that I want, which is, due to the DoDMERB.

Although I haven't heard back to know that I've been rejected, I had to complete a remedial per DoDMERB's request about some aspects of my medical history. To put it plainly, I've been on anti-depressants for two years for grief counseling due to the death of my mother. The depression was very situational and I'm in the process of tapering off my meds. Unfortunately, just the process of tapering off takes months to complete- and I was unaware that you need to be "free for a year" of medication to be accepted. My financial situation is such that I would appreciate the tuition assitance now rather than later.

My depression is not progressive and is actually not even a factor in my life- ROTC and my new life at college have all but eliminated my needs for medication. Is there any way this is enough to get a waiver by DoDMERB? By the time I commission my senior year, I will be completely off "drugs" for 2 1/2 years. I just would like to complete the contracting process now.

FYI, going "cold turkey" on anti-depressants and not completing the tapering off process is bad, bad news. It's not medically safe and I would be worse off for doing so. The only healthy way is to taper, and I need the full extent of the time to do so. My question is, is it possible to get contracted while I'm tapering? Or do I really need to wait 2 more years?
 
I already replied privately:thumb:
 
Anti-Depressants time-limits

About 16 months ago, my son, who was a sophomore at the time, went through a pretty rough patch, and allowed the stress of trying to do too much get to him. That combined with being dumped by a girl resulted in a mild bout of depression.

He underwent counseling, and was put on Prozac for a while. He completed his counseling, and has been off the anti-depressants for about 6 months now, and is doing wonderfully. He was named co-captain of his HS soccer team; His grades have been nothing short of outstanding; he earned his Eagle Scout, and by every way imaginable measure has the world in the palm of his hands. In fact tonight, we took him out for a steak dinner to celebrate his acceptance to the USAFA's summer seminar. He couldn't be more excited to go, and we couldn't be more proud of him.

That's when I ran across this site, and my heart just sank! Is his dream basically a non-starter? Did the fact that he went through counseling, and was temporarily put on Prozac put his dream in jeopardy? After all the work he's put into this, I can't bear telling him it may have all been for naught.

Is there a time limit for these kind of drugs? If so, what is that limit? When does the clock start ticking? He plans to formally apply for the AF Academy this summer when his SAT scores come back.... Will that be enough time?
 
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