If you can get written opinions from (multiple) shrinks regarding a possible misdiagnosis, the prognosis for no likely future issues, how he's been doing off meds, etc., it will greatly help his cause.
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Childhood depression waiver?
- Thread starter goldydice
- Start date
To add to this post, I just reviewed the psychiatric final report submitted to the FAA and the doctor writes, "I think it is judicious to give him the benefit of the doubt, to eliminate the diagnosis of bipolar illness, and leave a diagnosis of Depression NOS of childhood, which has been in remission since age 15". Hopefully, that statement is of value. I also reviewed the record, and the anti-depressants that he was given were Zoloft and Paxil, not Lexapro and Wellbutrin. Not sure if that makes any difference. Also, it just burns me that this doctor that continued his bipolar diagnosis was actually under disciplinary action by the medical board at the time he was treating my son and we were not aware of this. The court records indicate that this doctor had inappropriate contact with a minor, inadequate record keeping and was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder and narcissistic personality disorder! I wonder if this information in the form of the court records would influence the Navy's decision at all?
He should answer the questions asked truthfully. If those are how the questions are asked, then by all means, he should answer in a similar fashion that you just layed out. All my point (and feddoc, who's much more qualified than I) were pointing out is that if it's a question of "is he diagnosed...," then a very honest answer would be no.
By the way, I doubt the security clearance people would look at the FAA medical records. In fact, I would guess they can't, but that's not really an issue, either way.
goldydice,
Gatordev is spot on. If your son elects to pursue this path, it is imperative that he answer all medical questions truthfully. Failure to do so is not well received by the folks who need to be on his side to make this happen.
Psych waivers are a mixed bag in my experience. I can't speak as to how N3M and NAMI are looking at psychiatric conditions these days, and to my knowledge, the data on waiver recommendations for specific conditions isn't publicly available. Even if the bipolar diagnosis gets taken out, he still carries the diagnosis of depressive disorder NOS, which is disqualifying, and (maybe) oppositional defiant disorder, which is also disqualifying.
People with bipolar disorder can be very high functioning for long periods of time...long enough to go to college, get into medical school and become a psychiatrist as you've unfortunately discovered. The arts and sciences are full of people who carry the diagnosis.
Regardless of how many civilian medical evaluations you get, he's still going to get scrutinized by Navy medicine. In my experience, FAA waivers don't carry a lot of weight, since their operating environment is so different than ours. The FAA's standards are significantly lower than the Navy's. Conditions that are a non-problem in the US can become a big problem when in a remote operational environment.
He sounds like a good kid, and he's done well. In my opinion, anyone who makes the commitment to serve this nation, regardless of the outcome, is head and shoulders above his peers.
R/
Gatordev is spot on. If your son elects to pursue this path, it is imperative that he answer all medical questions truthfully. Failure to do so is not well received by the folks who need to be on his side to make this happen.
Psych waivers are a mixed bag in my experience. I can't speak as to how N3M and NAMI are looking at psychiatric conditions these days, and to my knowledge, the data on waiver recommendations for specific conditions isn't publicly available. Even if the bipolar diagnosis gets taken out, he still carries the diagnosis of depressive disorder NOS, which is disqualifying, and (maybe) oppositional defiant disorder, which is also disqualifying.
People with bipolar disorder can be very high functioning for long periods of time...long enough to go to college, get into medical school and become a psychiatrist as you've unfortunately discovered. The arts and sciences are full of people who carry the diagnosis.
Regardless of how many civilian medical evaluations you get, he's still going to get scrutinized by Navy medicine. In my experience, FAA waivers don't carry a lot of weight, since their operating environment is so different than ours. The FAA's standards are significantly lower than the Navy's. Conditions that are a non-problem in the US can become a big problem when in a remote operational environment.
He sounds like a good kid, and he's done well. In my opinion, anyone who makes the commitment to serve this nation, regardless of the outcome, is head and shoulders above his peers.
R/
Yes, of course, it's important to be honest. That's why we were honest with the FAA in the beginning, as well. I appreciate your insight and professional opinion. You've also provided me with new insight regarding mental health disorders that I was previously unaware of. We'll keep researching this issue as a family and circle back when we have a result to report.
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
How old is your son now?
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
good, even if it takes a few years to get cleared he won't have an age issue.
Yes, that's what I keep telling my son....time is on his side. However, I have heard of applicants being permanently disqualified and ineligible to apply again. I'm not sure if that can really happen or not, but it's quite frightening to think about and makes one hesitant to try.
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
yes, it can and does.
probably what will happen is MEPS will look at his records and tag him with PDQ, then his records will go to N3M, if they tag him with "continued processing not justified" he is done, if they say "continued processing justified" there is hope as N3M will want to see the results of the physical, and more than likely the psych eval that will be done as well, then they will review and make the call.
I just had a conversation with NAMI POC and the gentleman I spoke with actually reviews medical waiver applications. He was very kind and took a lot of time to explain the process to me. He said that they approve waiver applications for depression all of the time as they make up about 20% of the applications. When I talked about the bipolar piece, he said the most important thing was that it was clearly stated in any current evaluations that it was a misdiagnosis. He also stated that it was a positive that the FAA had already issued him an airman's certificate. He said the Navy is doing quite a bit of research into these topics and tries to mimic what the FAA is doing. He made it sound like the process wouldn't be that bad and that it shouldn't be a problem, but I also feel confused because there are still so many stories of rejection too.
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
It is because you have to get through N3M before NAMI reviews anything, NAMI is approving the ones that N3M has already seen and has approved to be USN officers, so NAMI is approving what N3M has already given the green light to.
The hard part is getting a psych doc to state that it was a misdiagnosis, most don't want to put that in a document.
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
It is the medical part of navy recruiting, but they generally work remote (from home) due to connectivity issues and the system they use, even if you would get a hold of them they always say they need to review the documents, that is why it is important for your son to start the application process, they could say it is waiverable, which it is, but until they read the documents they can't tell you anymore.