ClemsonFan
New Member
Hello Everyone,
I'm new here. I have been using this forum for months now and would like to say that it has been very helpful. I am currently trying to apply for Navy OCS and have recently run into some obstacles that I hope some of you can give me some help and insight for.
So here's my situation:
Back in January of this year I contacted my recruiter to get some more info. After going back and forth through email and phone for two months, I finally got the ball rolling in March only to come to a complete stop. At the time, I had been on medication for depression and the recruiter told me that I had to be off of the medication for 1 year before I would be eligible. I hadn't felt like I needed the medication for a while anyways because it was for something that I had been diagnosed with before I was a teenager. So I consulted my doctor and went off of the medication (been off meds for 8 months now). At the time, I planned to contact the recruiter again when I was close to the 1 year mark. However, after doing some research on here and reading the NAMI waiver guide, I found that it may be possible to get a waiver after being asymptomatic and off meds for 6 months. I then contacted the recruiter to get more info and found that she was being transferred to another state and there would be a new recruiter. So I contacted the new recruiter to get more info and it turns out that he didn't know. So he had me fill out the medical pre-screening forms for MEPS and said we could find out that way. After I filled out the forms and sent them in with a lot of medical records, my recruiter finally got something back from MEPS that said I had been disqualified but he couldn't see what for. So the recruiter said he had to send it up for a final review. After I sent in some more records, he finally got a memo back from the final review. This is all the memo states and exactly as it reads:
"Please provide a current psychiatric evaluation for extensive history of depression and anxiety."
I found this out a few days ago. This is the point I am at now. I am confused because I don't see how a current psychiatric evaluation will provide history of my depression. I mean I would be willing to bet that the doctors at MEPS had a hard time reading my medical records because most of them were doctor's notes from my yearly physicals. The only other record I have for depression is one from a therapist I saw probably 3-4 years ago once. The only other record I might could get my hands on would be from when I saw a psychiatrist once or twice when I was like 12 years old. This is when I was diagnosed with depression, and I doubt I could get those records. Even if I could get them, I'm not sure they would help because it was so long ago and ever since then my family doctor has been the one who has put me on the different depression medications.
Here are my questions:
-What do I do now? Do I need to get a current psychiatric evaluation? I am definitely willing to, but I don't want to do it if it isn't necessary because it is going to cost me big $$$$. I also contacted a local psychiatric clinic and they claimed that they do not do evaluations for entrance into the military.
-What is the deal with the waiver? Is it 6 months or a year or what? I know I read on the waiver guide that for mood disorders it says you must be asymptomatic and off meds for 6 months but I know that guide is for aviation and I'm not going for aviation. Is there a difference for those not going aviation? I also kinda assumed that if I needed to be off for 1 year the doctors at MEPS would have said something like "try again once you've been off for a year", since I clearly stated in the forms that I had only been off for 6 months when I sent them in.
-Do recruiters normally have you trying to get to MEPS before you take the ASTB or anything else, or is it just recruiter preference? I mean I thought that lots of guys didn't go to MEPS until later, but then again I don't know much.
BTW, I'm 22 and I graduated from Charleston Southern University this past May. My degree was a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management and a minor in Religion. My GPA was a fair 3.13. I think I can probably do pretty well on the ASTB, I have good extra-curriculars, and should get some good LORS. With all that being said, I hope I can be fairly competitive. I guess I just need to get past the medical stuff that is holding me back before I can find out anything else. Other than the depression, my medical history should be good to go. Finally, I apologize for the length of this thread and I am very grateful for any insight and help you guys can give.
I'm new here. I have been using this forum for months now and would like to say that it has been very helpful. I am currently trying to apply for Navy OCS and have recently run into some obstacles that I hope some of you can give me some help and insight for.
So here's my situation:
Back in January of this year I contacted my recruiter to get some more info. After going back and forth through email and phone for two months, I finally got the ball rolling in March only to come to a complete stop. At the time, I had been on medication for depression and the recruiter told me that I had to be off of the medication for 1 year before I would be eligible. I hadn't felt like I needed the medication for a while anyways because it was for something that I had been diagnosed with before I was a teenager. So I consulted my doctor and went off of the medication (been off meds for 8 months now). At the time, I planned to contact the recruiter again when I was close to the 1 year mark. However, after doing some research on here and reading the NAMI waiver guide, I found that it may be possible to get a waiver after being asymptomatic and off meds for 6 months. I then contacted the recruiter to get more info and found that she was being transferred to another state and there would be a new recruiter. So I contacted the new recruiter to get more info and it turns out that he didn't know. So he had me fill out the medical pre-screening forms for MEPS and said we could find out that way. After I filled out the forms and sent them in with a lot of medical records, my recruiter finally got something back from MEPS that said I had been disqualified but he couldn't see what for. So the recruiter said he had to send it up for a final review. After I sent in some more records, he finally got a memo back from the final review. This is all the memo states and exactly as it reads:
"Please provide a current psychiatric evaluation for extensive history of depression and anxiety."
I found this out a few days ago. This is the point I am at now. I am confused because I don't see how a current psychiatric evaluation will provide history of my depression. I mean I would be willing to bet that the doctors at MEPS had a hard time reading my medical records because most of them were doctor's notes from my yearly physicals. The only other record I have for depression is one from a therapist I saw probably 3-4 years ago once. The only other record I might could get my hands on would be from when I saw a psychiatrist once or twice when I was like 12 years old. This is when I was diagnosed with depression, and I doubt I could get those records. Even if I could get them, I'm not sure they would help because it was so long ago and ever since then my family doctor has been the one who has put me on the different depression medications.
Here are my questions:
-What do I do now? Do I need to get a current psychiatric evaluation? I am definitely willing to, but I don't want to do it if it isn't necessary because it is going to cost me big $$$$. I also contacted a local psychiatric clinic and they claimed that they do not do evaluations for entrance into the military.
-What is the deal with the waiver? Is it 6 months or a year or what? I know I read on the waiver guide that for mood disorders it says you must be asymptomatic and off meds for 6 months but I know that guide is for aviation and I'm not going for aviation. Is there a difference for those not going aviation? I also kinda assumed that if I needed to be off for 1 year the doctors at MEPS would have said something like "try again once you've been off for a year", since I clearly stated in the forms that I had only been off for 6 months when I sent them in.
-Do recruiters normally have you trying to get to MEPS before you take the ASTB or anything else, or is it just recruiter preference? I mean I thought that lots of guys didn't go to MEPS until later, but then again I don't know much.
BTW, I'm 22 and I graduated from Charleston Southern University this past May. My degree was a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management and a minor in Religion. My GPA was a fair 3.13. I think I can probably do pretty well on the ASTB, I have good extra-curriculars, and should get some good LORS. With all that being said, I hope I can be fairly competitive. I guess I just need to get past the medical stuff that is holding me back before I can find out anything else. Other than the depression, my medical history should be good to go. Finally, I apologize for the length of this thread and I am very grateful for any insight and help you guys can give.
