I have a waiver for migraines. 3 years is the line in the sand. If they were within that time frame (or took medication in that period) a waiver would be denied. I went to MEPS with all my documentation and the Doc said I was good to go. I showed up to OCS and the flight docs at NAMI were surprised that no one at MEPS told me I would need a waiver. I had CAT scans and an MRI and the associated documentation.
The Flight Doc sent me to the head of neurology at NAMI for a consult. Three doctors then fired off questions for a long time and then gave me a bunch of tests about my coordination (imagine a sobriety test on crack). The type of questions they asked me went like this:
1. Story of your migraines.
2. Type of migraines (location and duration).
3. How the migraines effected your vision (lose of vision, tunnel vision, spots, etc.) or created a sensitivity to light.
4. Duration of a migraine.
5. Level of pain associated with a migraine.
6. The level to which migraines prevented you from doing activities like work or school and how you reacted (miss school/ work, lay down in a dark room).
7. How you got off medication.
8. Any possible triggers.
My strategy when it came to the interview was to prove to the Doc that I was worth the Navy taking a risk. At the time of my interview it had been 6 years since my last migraine or when I last took medication. I then listed all of the physical and stressful activities I had done without any migraines or the need of medication. My migraines were probably linked to going through puberty and the flight doc agreed. I was also 3 weeks into OCS at the time and did not have any migraine issues.
When I was NPQ'ed and had to wait a long time for the waiver I was on the verge of going nuts. If you ever get to that point do you best to try and push the waiver out of your mind. When it comes to applying for the waiver, check up on it weekly (by writing down everyone's name and office phone number) because you are the only person who will actively check on the status.
Good luck with your application, your physical and the waiver process. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.