MEPS question - inhalers

[LaneyLou]

I just got a call from my recruiter that I'm pro-rec assuming I pass the MEPS physical (that seems out of order to me, but welcome to the Navy way of doing things, right?). One of the questions on the paperwork is "Have you ever used an inhaler?" I did when I was 9 because I had some allergies (that I have since outgrown) that sometimes made it hard from me to breathe when swimming laps (I used to swim a lot of laps). Am I screwed? I obviously am not going to lie on this but it's not a great feeling to come this far and then be dropped for something this trivial. I guess there's nothing I can do about it now, but I was curious if anyone knew anything.

Thanks,
LL

 

[eddie]

You aren't screwed because you were younger than 13, but from what I understand the waiver process is a BITCH...

Fuck asthma.

Google NOMI and look for aeromedical waivers; I don't remember all of the details anymore.

 

[RockyMtnNFO]

You just need to have any medical documentation from when you were nine and a statement that you are in top physical condition, run triathalons, can outfight a grizzly bear etc.

The waiver process will cause considerable paperwork pain but is doable.

 

[Scamahmrd]

I would never tell you to lie, but be very carefull what you put down on those forms. I had to endure a very long and painful process due to saying that I had used an inhaler. In fact, I still get questioned about it on every physical (8 years and many physicals later.) Don't violate your integrity, but think about your answers. In my case, I had a prescription for an inhaler, but never actually used it (stupid doctors.) Anyway, good luck. PM me if you have any questions about it.

 

[eddie]

So, recruiters and legalists of all flavors and sizes:

Does record of a perscription imply "use" for the situation Scamahmrd described above?

Reason I ask is, there were various inhalers percribed to me (after the age 13 benchmark) that I never touched. Mommy insisted on them: "just in case."

 

[snow85]

i think the question then becomes:

if you didn't need to use it, why did you go through the trouble of getting a px for it? sort of like "intent"-- what was your intent in getting the inhaler?

 

[eddie]

i think the question then becomes:

if you didn't need to use it, why did you go through the trouble of getting a px for it? sort of like "intent"-- what was your intent in getting the inhaler?

Trouble of getting a perscription?!?? For an inhaler!?!?? Surely, you jest!

Pediatricians and allergists hand those things out like friggin' candy.

 

[snow85]

it was in response to this:

Does record of a perscription imply "use... for... In my case, I had a prescription for an inhaler, but never actually used it "

why would you go to a doctor for something you don't need? and if you're under 18, why would a parent go through the trouble for something they don't think you need.

"yeah, i have a px for aderol, but i don't really need it and i've never taken it." well, why do you have the px, then? why do you have px MEDS that you're saying you don't need?

in this case, the applicant was 9-- i don't see it being a big deal at all. in fact, if it were me, i would probably write "yes, when i was 9." chances are that was a good 10 years or so ago for laneylou.

 

[eddie]

You want the long and the short of it? 'Cause I don't think I'm drilling this through your skull they way I want to. Skip to bold if you must.

Fat kid has trouble breathing when he runs. Brother of fat kid has asthma, so doctor decides to give fat kid an inhaler for the hell of it, on the off chance he may have asthma. So yeah, when I was younger (below the DQ age), I used an albuterol before PE a few times. It wasn't doing anything, so I quit using it. Years and pounds lost later, I start seeing a new doctor. He sees history of asthma, decides to give me a px for Advair and a couple albuterol re-fills, "just in case I ever feel like I need it." I didn't take issue with the perscriptions at the time because I didn't know asthma was disqualifying for military service. When I did find this out, I went straight to the nearest pulmonologist and did a methacholine challenge: "Your small airways are smaller than expected, but you don't have asthma."

Two years later before heading off to college, mom decides I should get tested for allergies (like many people, I need an occasional claritin between April and June... Mother's have a way of exagerating this issue). Ok, so I am allergic to dust mites, a few molds, and one or two pollens! Allergist decides to send me home with the works: Rescue albuterols, Advair, and a daily antihystamine you take through an inhaler that I threw away and don't remember the name of. Despite my adamant insistance that I did not need them to function, not to mention NEVER having anything even remotely resembling an asthma attack in my life. The px weren't for me, they were "for" my mother. And no, I was not 18 yet, although I blame no one but myself for this predicament even if I am frustrated with my doctors and mother.

I take issue with the fact that all the generalists were so quick to diagnose me as asthmatic, to the point of handing me loads of free samples and writing out perscriptions, while the one respiratory specialist says straight up: "You don't have it, by the Navy's numbers or mine."

My experience, which I will say is limited to friends and family, is that doctors are too willing to perscribe inhalers. Not only are they overperscribed, but they are perscribed for everything under the sun. It's to a point where everyone I know who has ever had a bad chest cold as a kid, or had trouble running on a hot, smoggy SOCAL day has an albuterol around the house, if not Advair discs for when they get a cough. "Just in case..." That's what I take issue with.


Ugh, this thread has devolved into a story about me... :irked_125

 

[snow85]

eddie--

you're asking a "legal" question here, by your own words. what you're not seeing is that it doesn't matter. if you didn't NEED the inhaler, people are going to wonder why you have a px for one. so while there may be an 'explanation', it doesn't change the fact that you still have one. you would most likely have to show "proof" of not needing one, from a specialist. how difficult is that to understand? there's a reason you can't get one OTC.

if there's a question of "need", the Navy can an issue a simple test to determine whether you have asthma or not.

the answer to your question: Does a px imply need?

is "Yes, it does."

let's put this a different way: i had a bad injury in high school: ACL, meniscus, PCL damage, articluar cartilage damage, and a very badly fractured femur. ACLs are DQ'ing in Naval Aviation, and in rare circumstances you can get a waiver. now, even though i had gone on to be a college athlete and had done some other crazy athletic things, was stronger and more fit than the men going in, regardless of what i said, i still had to "prove" that it wouldn't be a liability. why? because of the fact that i had the surgery. doesn't matter what you say about why you have the px. doesn't matter if you think physicians hand them out like candy. (which they may.)

what matters is what you can prove.

even in your case, it doesn't sound like it should have been an issue w/the recruiter/MEPS/NAMI.

 

[Zilch]

You say it is a fact you had surgery, yes. But, aside from you telling them about it, how would they find out? I'm not implying withholding information, but if you know you're fit, and the surgery is no longer an issue, why bother mentioning it?

 

[snow85]

Well, they weren't likely to miss a 4" scar down the middle of my leg when I PST'd or @ MEPS/NAMI, etc. =)

In that particular case, as with asthma, it's about the unknown. I had to essentially prove that I was physically strong enough to get myself, and possibly others, out of a hot zone if the graft failed and my knee became unstable. Not only did I have to get all kinds of physician reports, but I had to have reports from coaches too. I also had to track a week's workout for proof that I was above and beyond the point where any noninjured person would be. I don't think that level of insane reporting is normal, though.

With asthma, it's even worse because you never know if/when you'll have an attack. In a dangerous situation, I personally would much rather have an unstable knee (that I can control through the strength of my muscles), than lungs with issues.

On the other hand, I was also born with a heart murmur. (I was early, it's common b/c you're not fully developed.) But because I have no medical record of cardiac issues past my initial birth-discharge from the hospital, there was no need to indicate it on my forms. It would have been pointless for all involved.

So, if there's any way they can find out and the information is timely,disclosure is best. My knee = potential issue. My heart = nonissue because it's perfectly fine, even though it was a little young when it started out. You can't lie, but what you write makes a difference.

 

[eddie]

eddie--

you're asking a "legal" question here, by your own words. what you're not seeing is that it doesn't matter. if you didn't NEED the inhaler, people are going to wonder why you have a px for one. so while there may be an 'explanation', it doesn't change the fact that you still have one. you would most likely have to show "proof" of not needing one, from a specialist.

I'm an idiot. I apologize. I got so worked up about this issue I actually forgot what I was asking in my first post, and totally mis-read your answers, and decided to make them personal.

You're absolutely correct.

 

[LaneyLou]

it was in response to this:

Does record of a perscription imply "use... for... In my case, I had a prescription for an inhaler, but never actually used it "

in this case, the applicant was 9-- i don't see it being a big deal at all. in fact, if it were me, i would probably write "yes, when i was 9." chances are that was a good 10 years or so ago for laneylou.

9 was 15 years ago for me, so I guess that means I'm all right... I'll be the old lady at OCS who looks like she's about 18 or so. That whole working/grad school after college thing will catch up to you. Thanks!

 

[snow85]

eddie--

no biggie. your explanation may be enough, but on the other hand, they may send you to a specialist to determine whether you have asthma or not. if so, just go, breathe, and relax.

hey, old lady,

i wouldn't worry about it. tell your recruiter, like it's no big deal, b/c it isn't a big deal, and then do what they tell you re: writing it down.