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Posted: 4/28/2010 5:36:46 AM EDT
I'm in the process of joining the armed forces.  I take the physical on Wednesday, and hopefully swear in on the same day.  One thing has been bothering me though.  I saw a psychologist for possible ADD/ADHD for three months from late Oct 2008 to early Jan 2009.  I took Concerta and Strattera during that time and I decided to take myself off because it was expensive and I wasn't seeing any meaningful results.  I haven't taken any meds since Jan 2009.  I also haven't been back to the psychologist since then.  I've got no other problems with depression, anxiety, suicide, etc.  My grades in school were unchanged and I've been employed full time for seven months now where I just got a favorable performance review.  I'm a functional member of society in every sense.  I probably demonstrate few if any symptoms.  

I was very forthcoming about all this to my recruiter and he basically told me that since it was over a year ago, and it was for a short time, it wasn't really worth mentioning on my medical screen.  Keep your story straight and they'll never know.  They only know what you decide to tell them.  I went along with it, but I'm having second thoughts.  My only real concern is that it'll come out if I have to get a Top Secret clearance, which I probably will.  I'd rather get it out in the open and let whatever happens happen rather than spend six years wondering if it'll ever come out.  Besides, if it ever did come out, I get burned at the stake while the recruiter denies it all.  

Other than that, I'm as clean as the priest's bedsheets.  

So, that said, if I come clean at MEPS, how hard will it be for me to get a waiver for ADD/ADHD?  Some of the reading I've done says you get get an on the spot waiver if you haven't taken the medicine for a year and you don't demonstrate the symptoms during your processing.  If this whole shit complicates things, it complicates things, but I really don't want to start off my career on a bad note.
Link Posted: 4/28/2010 5:51:42 AM EDT
[#1]
I'm no military expert, but I do have ADD/ADHD. I wouldn't worry too much about it. ADD diagnosis is all too comm and should not even weigh on there decision. I too stopped taking meds for it after about 6 months...not enough benefit to out weigh all the hassles of get my script filled. I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. If you are looking to get top secret clearance and this is the only thing that haunts you, then you should not have any problems...
Link Posted: 4/28/2010 5:56:26 AM EDT
[#2]
What are you going in for?  The waiver does not apply to all rates/mos.  If you bring it up now, yes it will become a problem since they'll want dcumentation from your DR.  The clearance should have nothing to do with your medical especially, since the way I read your post, you weren't diagnosed with anything.  I wouldn't say anything personally, I need more info to say for sure.  

I did 10yrs active Navy and 3 reserve so far btw.
Link Posted: 4/28/2010 6:01:18 AM EDT
[#3]
I was diagnosed as having a mild case of ADHD with possible co morbid anxiety, although i don't agree with the anxiety part.  Hence the reason I was prescribed the medicine.  I've been off it for a year and three months, and I'm as functional as I was before, during, and after taking it.
Link Posted: 4/28/2010 6:12:45 AM EDT
[#4]
Well last year I lost a shit hot NCO... He was seen by a doc and was giving Concerta and was taking it just like the Doc told him. When he went to medical to enter it in to his medical records it shot up a big ass red flag. 8 months later he was out on medical.
good luck...
and keep your mouth shut....





 
Link Posted: 4/28/2010 9:08:57 AM EDT
[#5]
I've been out of the recruiting game for a long time, but from what you are saying, you will may be medically DQed.  What your recruiter may do is  have you get your medical documentation first, and send the documentation up before you go on deck.  A lot depends on what branch of the service you are entering, what part of the country you are in, and what your ASVAB score is.  If you are in a high mental category, with no other waivers needed, you might get a medical waiver.  If you are in a part of the country that is having no problem making quota, have lower ASVAB scores, or if your doctor says he has an issue with military service, you are out.  

I have no idea what a morbid anxiety disorder is, but it doesn't sound good. Your doctor that prescribed you the drugs has a big say on whether you will get a waiver or not. If your doctor believes that you needed the drugs, but didn't take them as he prescribed, he will probably give the MEPS doctors a less than favorable prognosis.
Link Posted: 4/28/2010 12:09:28 PM EDT
[#6]
Quoted:
I've been out of the recruiting game for a long time, but from what you are saying, you will may be medically DQed.  What your recruiter may do is  have you get your medical documentation first, and send the documentation up before you go on deck.  A lot depends on what branch of the service you are entering, what part of the country you are in, and what your ASVAB score is.  If you are in a high mental category, with no other waivers needed, you might get a medical waiver.  If you are in a part of the country that is having no problem making quota, have lower ASVAB scores, or if your doctor says he has an issue with military service, you are out.  

I have no idea what a morbid anxiety disorder is, but it doesn't sound good. Your doctor that prescribed you the drugs has a big say on whether you will get a waiver or not. If your doctor believes that you needed the drugs, but didn't take them as he prescribed, he will probably give the MEPS doctors a less than favorable prognosis.


I'm 94% on the ASVAB, and Navy Nuclear is getting pushed hard on me.  I'll need no other waivers.  Co morbid anxiety disorder means accompanying or in addition to.  As in he felt I had ADD in addition to anxiety, but I don't agree with that because I'm not the nervous or anxious type.
Link Posted: 4/28/2010 12:14:54 PM EDT
[#7]



Quoted:



Quoted:

I've been out of the recruiting game for a long time, but from what you are saying, you will may be medically DQed.  What your recruiter may do is  have you get your medical documentation first, and send the documentation up before you go on deck.  A lot depends on what branch of the service you are entering, what part of the country you are in, and what your ASVAB score is.  If you are in a high mental category, with no other waivers needed, you might get a medical waiver.  If you are in a part of the country that is having no problem making quota, have lower ASVAB scores, or if your doctor says he has an issue with military service, you are out.  



I have no idea what a morbid anxiety disorder is, but it doesn't sound good. Your doctor that prescribed you the drugs has a big say on whether you will get a waiver or not. If your doctor believes that you needed the drugs, but didn't take them as he prescribed, he will probably give the MEPS doctors a less than favorable prognosis.




I'm 94% on the ASVAB, and Navy Nuclear is getting pushed hard on me.  I'll need no other waivers.  Co morbid anxiety disorder means accompanying or in addition to.  As in he felt I had ADD in addition to anxiety, but I don't agree with that because I'm not the nervous or anxious type.
If you have the time get a second opinion ! now that you are better.





 
Link Posted: 4/28/2010 12:17:01 PM EDT
[#8]
Just remember YES...means Your Enlistment Stops
Link Posted: 4/28/2010 4:03:04 PM EDT
[#9]
Quoted:
Just remember YES...means Your Enlistment Stops


Yeah, and if you answer no to a question that is actually a yes, your life stops.  You can be thrown out on a dishonorable discharge, never be able to enlist again, and that shit'll haunt you the rest of your days.  If they don't want me, they don't want me.  I'd rather get a DQ and maybe or maybe not get a waiver then spend the rest of my life as a fucking liar worrying about it.  The risk just doesn't seem worth it.
Link Posted: 4/28/2010 4:07:48 PM EDT
[#10]
I never mentioned it.  I'm not saying that's the right answer, but I left well enough alone and have had a good career.
Link Posted: 4/28/2010 4:10:21 PM EDT
[#11]
I had been diagnosed with asthma when I was 10 years old. My symptoms only lasted about 1 month and it never bothered me again until after I was out of the Army.  I have smoked almost everyday since I was 15 so, I highly doubted that I had asthma  I didn't mention it at MEPS otherwise I never would have been able to join.  It turns that I never did suffer from asthma anyway and I was just allergic to cats.  I guess what I am saying is, Doctors aren't always right.  Its up to you whether or not to risk it all and not disclose it or tell them and see what they say.  Correct me if I am wrong but, I think this falls under "Fraudulent Enlistment".  Pretty serious stuff.
Link Posted: 4/28/2010 4:19:51 PM EDT
[#12]
Quoted:

Quoted:
Quoted:
I've been out of the recruiting game for a long time, but from what you are saying, you will may be medically DQed.  What your recruiter may do is  have you get your medical documentation first, and send the documentation up before you go on deck.  A lot depends on what branch of the service you are entering, what part of the country you are in, and what your ASVAB score is.  If you are in a high mental category, with no other waivers needed, you might get a medical waiver.  If you are in a part of the country that is having no problem making quota, have lower ASVAB scores, or if your doctor says he has an issue with military service, you are out.  

I have no idea what a morbid anxiety disorder is, but it doesn't sound good. Your doctor that prescribed you the drugs has a big say on whether you will get a waiver or not. If your doctor believes that you needed the drugs, but didn't take them as he prescribed, he will probably give the MEPS doctors a less than favorable prognosis.


I'm 94% on the ASVAB, and Navy Nuclear is getting pushed hard on me.  I'll need no other waivers.  Co morbid anxiety disorder means accompanying or in addition to.  As in he felt I had ADD in addition to anxiety, but I don't agree with that because I'm not the nervous or anxious type.
If you have the time get a second opinion ! now that you are better.

 


This.  The opinion of one drug peddling doc is not a death sentence for your career.
Link Posted: 4/28/2010 9:21:58 PM EDT
[#13]
Someone I know was once diagnosed with asthma AND later ADHD...now he's a VERY highspeed officer of the multiple tab variety....

My recruiter "didn't" tell me to lie about a broken arm when I was 5 that never bothered me again....because he'd had people turned away from MEPS for less.  He said at a minimum I was probably looking at having to get appointments with an orthopedic specialist to get xrays and verify that he arm healed perfectly.  It was 100% by the time I was 6.
Link Posted: 4/29/2010 2:02:21 PM EDT
[#14]
I have ADD.  Just don't say anything!
Link Posted: 4/29/2010 2:40:24 PM EDT
[#15]
I have adhd, say nothing, a great number of your mates will have it.  Drink strong coffee and don't worry about it.  It is not worth mentioning, period.
Link Posted: 4/29/2010 5:19:30 PM EDT
[#16]
So, what are the odds of me getting through a Top Secret Clearance evaluation with a secret mental health record?  The rates I'm likely to get WILL need a Top Secret level approval.  If I thought I was gonna be a boatswain mate or some shit like that, I wouldn't worry about it, but I think the odds of surviving a Top Secret eval are slim.  In order for them to even start it, I have to give them approval to look for anything they want to about me.  I've gotta name witnesses, and those witnesses are gonna be asked for names, and it just seems like way too much of a risk.  They don't take you word for it on anything.  People have said they don't give a shit what you tell them, it's what you don't tell them that they care about.  If they want to waive it, they can, and if not, I'll know I did the right thing. Keeping quiet doesn't seem like a smart idea when the smoking gun exists with my name out it and they will be looking for it.
Link Posted: 4/30/2010 2:49:36 AM EDT
[#17]
I have Asthma and ADHD I'm in the military deployed right now and I have a clearance. As soon as i get back stateside im going to begin my trip down the long road that will lead to me becoming an officer.
If you feel its going to affect your performance as a member of the armed foreces then by all means say something about it, but if you think that you will be a top notch soldier regardless of your medical shortcoming's then don't say anything.

And quit worrying about your clearance so much they are not trying to check to see if you lied on your med screens you wierdo. Honestly im not exactly sure what they do check but i do know that isn't it. I withheld information about my ADHD and i have a clearance. They are not checking to see if you have asthma they are trying to see if your a potential traitor. When they checked mine they probably found all of my medical records anyway because my father was in the military and ive only been seen by military doctors my whole life.

A lot of people have this ridiculous notion that the military is this omnipresent force this is able to sense your every lie. Well quit thinking that right now, it fogs your mind and it stops people in the military from making good judgment calls because they are so worried about getting in trouble afterward.

One for the first things you really have to learn how to do in the military is find out which rules to follow and which rules not to follow. You will run into pointless rules your whole military career that you have to ignore or find a way around, for example here in Afghanistan we are told not to use certain passes when out on mission but if we don't use those passes then are vehicles get stuck because the dirt is too soft in certain areas and when the vehicles are stuck we are immobilized and the enemy could really drill us so we have to use these "dangerous passes" that we aren't allowed to use all the time. and this whole rule to not use these passes is made by some captain in a command tent who has never even been on the pass before but he saw a picture of it. Here's another one you can't carry concealed personal weapons on a military base, tell that to the dead at fort hood who were gunned down by a single gunmen, if even one of those soldiers would have had his duty weapons to shoot back a lot of peoples lives could have been saved. I could give you a million more examples man as im sure anyone else could. I hope you make through MEPS man.
Link Posted: 4/30/2010 7:18:21 AM EDT
[#18]





Quoted:



I have adhd, say nothing, a great number of your mates will have it.  Drink strong coffee and don't worry about it.  It is not worth mentioning, period.



This is was I did.



ETA:  I have a TS.





 
Link Posted: 4/30/2010 7:53:01 AM EDT
[#19]
Recruiting command can access any police records in the country but they can only request medical records for things you tell them about and from hospitals you say you were treated at.

Tell the truth is easy to say but I've seen enlistment denied to applicants for stupid shit the doc won't waive. The rule used to be get med docs on any broken bones within the last 4 years. Had one doc at MEPS decide he wanted to see med docs regardless of when broken bone occured. Took me a year to get records on an star high school athlete applicant who broke his arm when he was 4 years old. Kid had to pay for the records out of pocket because the hospital was in Hawaii and charged for a copy of the records.

I watched a kid with a 11B/Ranger/Airborne/$7000 bonus get screwed by the MEPS doc when he went to ship. While sitting there waiting for the last review by the doc before shipping, kid picked a scab on his arm the size of the lead in a pencil. Doc disqualified him for an "open wound". Forget the fact there was one small blood bubble that never even dropped and dried up within a few minutes. Kid lost his entire contract.

Hell, before the rise of ADHD/ADD being diagnosed for every hyper kid, we all chalked it up to being easily bored and just a little hyper.
Link Posted: 5/1/2010 8:04:04 AM EDT
[#20]
If you become a 19D everyone else in the platoon will be ADHD.  
We love it.
Link Posted: 5/1/2010 8:16:30 AM EDT
[#21]
Let your conscience be your guide, I was treated for ADHD as a kid and dyslexia and just completed my first six years in the Guard honorably. I may have forgot to mention these things to MEPS so I tried to disclose them at the moment of truth and the NCO who was taking confessions told me so what he was ADHD too and to drink water and drive on! Needless to say I'm pretty sure it didn't make my official record. And if you look at the behavior in any Combat Arms unit you'll see a whole bunch ADHD Soldier/Sailors/Marines acting just like you. My last MOS was as Aviation Maintenance and believe it or not I wasn't the only dyslexic mechanic either.
Link Posted: 5/2/2010 12:10:09 AM EDT
[#22]
Sounds like someone has second thoughts about joining the service and wants out without looking like a puss.  Suck it up and listen to your Recruiter he probably knows what he's doing.  A Top Secret clearance is not going to involve somebody calling every Dr. in your home town.  There gonna run a NCIC, and credit report.  Then there gonna talk to the references that YOU put down on your SF 86.  You will not get a waiver for ADHD at this time.
Link Posted: 5/2/2010 6:41:45 AM EDT
[#23]
I'm agreeimng with skids.  There is no reason to report it,half the arme combat arms would be out.  I think you are pussying out and looking for an excuse to tell your buddies who are going in.
Link Posted: 5/2/2010 7:04:40 PM EDT
[#24]
Fuck repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell," how about we get treatment for all of the people with ADD/ADHD in the closet.




There is a lot.
Link Posted: 5/3/2010 8:09:24 PM EDT
[#25]
I knew people in the Navy that had ADHD and were taking meds and it was not issue at all.  It didn't affect thier clearance either.  The guy I knew on the Destroyer I was on was a Crypto Tech and was on ADHD meds.  I have a family member with ADHD and all the recruiters told her that all she needed to do was be off the meds for two years prior to enlisting for it not to be a problem.  Then she could just go into medical and get back on them after bootcamp and A school.  I was 20 years navy, so I'm not just talking out my @ss (just to validate the info a little).

Plus, right now they are taking anybody.  They just want bodies.  They are even letting in convicted felons right now.

The only things that meds might affect is possibly a TS clearance (maybe) or PRP (working with nukes).  If you take meds it's not a career ender.  I was taking PTSD meds for several years before I retired honorably.  about 60 percent of your senior NCO's E-7 and above are more than likely taking some kind of meds.  You'd be suprised.

Mutt
Link Posted: 5/3/2010 8:29:56 PM EDT
[#26]
Funny you bring it up, some pill pushing docs  told me the same thing.  I kept my mouth shut and swore in last Friday.  My job also requires a security clearance and i did not have any problems.
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