Waiver vs DQ for a misdiagnosis (Army, Air Force, Marines, enlisting)
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I will try to keep it short and sweet. I am a 26yo female interested in serving, preferably in the Air Force but I'd be open to Army or Marines as well. It has been a life long dream of mine, but was thwarted when I was 18 by a friend-of-friend that was a recruiter, who told me that a condition I believed I had would DQ me.
I'll start by saying that I believe my mother has un-diagnosed Munchhausen and bi-polar disorder. She has also had on/off issues with prescription meds, but has never been treated for any of the above. When I was very young I got my first menstrual cycle (8yo) and she took me to the doctors insisting that I had something wrong with me. The GYN fought that notion, but put me on birth control at my mothers insistence. I remained on it for years and had no bleeding issues. My mother continued to insist that there was something wrong with me and made appointment after appointment. After a few years of pestering, the GYN gave in and referred me to a hematologist. According to my mother, the hematologist apparently diagnosed me with Von Willebrands Disease, though I was never medicated for it beyond taking the birth control. I had appointments with the Hema every 3 months for several years, and each time I was coached to say that I had horrible cramps so they would provide me with pain medication (which my mother took). She told me my entire life that I could not have children or I would die in childbirth, that I could not play sports because I was 'sickly' even though I excelled at sports in school gym, etc. I could go on about the other abuse/neglect but it isn't relevant.
Fast forward to me being 18 and not having health insurance. I moved out of my mother's home as soon as I could... and couldn't afford my monthly bills plus the cost of buying birth control. I went a month without it and realized that nothing changed, so I continued on like that for several years but still believed that I had this condition because I had been told so for half my life. I only started taking BC again when my husband and I got together. I am on it again now because we have a baby and don't want another one. I went to see a hematologist for the condition I thought I might have as soon as I got pregnant, and after evaluating me she said she doesn't feel that I have a bleeding condition. She said she will need to re-test my blood once I had the baby and was done nursing. I have an appointment with her in 3 weeks to have that done. I am hoping that she will confirm a mis-diagnosis. I have tried multiple times to get my records from when I was originally 'diagnosed', but as it has been more than 7 years, the records have been destroyed. I am honestly not even sure that I was ever diagnosed with anything, I just know that I had to keep going back and being monitored and that I never once had an 'issue' with my bloodwork. I honestly think that this was a case of Munchhausen by-proxy, after seeing the way she handled my own health as well as my siblings health. Now that we are all out of the house, she is constantly ill and needing surgery, though surgery never actually gets performed.
So... If I can get a doctor to say that I was mis-diagnosed.. does that mean that I might be able to get into the military? would I need a waiver anyway? When my hematologist told me that not only would I successfully carry this child, but that she didn't believe I actually had a bleeding condition based on my answers and blood work, I was elated. I immediately thought about the military and had renewed hope of serving. I have tried to get in touch with a recruiter but I am waiting on a call back. I just don't want them to think I'm wasting their time since I don't have the letter from the doc yet... and right now, I can only assume dial-a-doc would tell them I am PDQ'd. Any insight is very much appreciated. If you've made it this far in the post, thank you for your time!
Thanks for your reply. I am aware that everything on this thread is only theoretical, and that my fate ultimately rests with the recruiter/MEPS process. I am hoping that someone could shed a little more light on the waiver process and what it is like for someone that has been misdiagnosed with an illness. As I said in my OP, I am awaiting a call back from a recruiter. If I have not gotten a call from them by the time my doctors appointment rolls around, I am just going to take the letter from the doctor with me and walk into the armed forces recruitment center. I just don't want to do that until I am positive that I've been mis-diagnosed and can provide proof.
bmorehon,
Don't be your own worst enemy. If the doctor states that you don't have the condition, I would just answer "NO" on the all the forms, and state you don't have it, or any disorder, and move on. No waiver needed, no disqualification, nothing.
If you tell this story to a recruiter, you will have to get all the medical records from when you were younger, or you will need to get letters from the providers office that they have been purged, and it will also lead to a host of other problems. You can be disqualified for abnormal menstruation, severe cramps, or other items that might be documented in those records because you lied and said you had those things.
I'm a recruiter, and I would advise you that if your current doctor says you don't have it, you don't have it, say NO, end of story. Don't open a can of worms that doesn't need to be opened.
bmorehon,
Don't be your own worst enemy. If the doctor states that you don't have the condition, I would just answer "NO" on the all the forms, and state you don't have it, or any disorder, and move on. No waiver needed, no disqualification, nothing.
If you tell this story to a recruiter, you will have to get all the medical records from when you were younger, or you will need to get letters from the providers office that they have been purged, and it will also lead to a host of other problems. You can be disqualified for abnormal menstruation, severe cramps, or other items that might be documented in those records because you lied and said you had those things.
I'm a recruiter, and I would advise you that if your current doctor says you don't have it, you don't have it, say NO, end of story. Don't open a can of worms that doesn't need to be opened.
Good luck!
This is pretty much what my husband said to do... I am just concerned that it will be found out during clearance interviews with my family and that I'll be booted. I am the breadwinner of our household and the whole point of enlisting is so I can get my education paid for as I am currently hitting a wall in my career without a degree. If I get booted, I have no family or money to fall back on, and I have a child to care for. Is there language in the USCMJ about fraudulent enlistment and lies of omission? I've tried to look but I can't find much and my legal-ese is admittedly not very good. Not to sound hoity-toity but I pride myself on my integrity which is one of the qualities that got me out of the hood and into a professional atmosphere to begin with. This is just such a weird a F'd up situation. I do plan on applying for jobs that only require secret clearance, so if all goes well I hopefully won't have family interviews anyway. And if they do decide to interview her well.... she and her home are not exactly in great condition. So maybe my word and my doctors letters will go further than hers.
Also: will they want the medical records from when I had my kid 9 months ago? because the VWD is all over that paperwork as the hematologist couldn't confirm or deny I had it while pregnant. I didn't have any complications, but it definitely says it on my paperwork somewhere.
TLDR; I'm scared ****less of getting the boot but I want to join.
dmarie123's advice should be taken with caution. If you thought you had this condition for half your life (and were diagnosed with it) and it is on all your medical records for half your life it isn't as simple as one doctor saying you may not have it now. It would be a lie to omit this information as it requires a waiver regardless of what one doctor now may say. The paperwork you're going to fill out at MEPS is asking about your medical history, not what you or a doctor believes right now.
What dmarie123 is telling you would be good advice if it is something your mother or grandmother told you they thought you had at one point but were never diagnosed with it.
The choice is yours but I wanted you to know that omitting this information is a fraudulent enlistment and you will be separated if it is discovered later. On the other hand, it may prevent you from enlisting in the first place if they try and get a waiver for it.
I was a recruiting supervisor for 15 years and want you to have all the information.
This is pretty much what my husband said to do... I am just concerned that it will be found out during clearance interviews with my family and that I'll be booted. I am the breadwinner of our household and the whole point of enlisting is so I can get my education paid for as I am currently hitting a wall in my career without a degree. If I get booted, I have no family or money to fall back on, and I have a child to care for. Is there language in the USCMJ about fraudulent enlistment and lies of omission? I've tried to look but I can't find much and my legal-ese is admittedly not very good. Not to sound hoity-toity but I pride myself on my integrity which is one of the qualities that got me out of the hood and into a professional atmosphere to begin with. This is just such a weird a F'd up situation. I do plan on applying for jobs that only require secret clearance, so if all goes well I hopefully won't have family interviews anyway. And if they do decide to interview her well.... she and her home are not exactly in great condition. So maybe my word and my doctors letters will go further than hers.
Also: will they want the medical records from when I had my kid 9 months ago? because the VWD is all over that paperwork as the hematologist couldn't confirm or deny I had it while pregnant. I didn't have any complications, but it definitely says it on my paperwork somewhere.
TLDR; I'm scared ****less of getting the boot but I want to join.
It's not a fraudulent enlistment if you don't lie. If you don't have VWD, you don't have it, so it's not a lie.
If it's still something in your medical records, you might actually be wise to disclose it. I didn't realize it was still in there.
Good luck!
By the way, DODI 6130, the regulation we have, says "b. Current or history of coagulation defects (286), including but not limited to von
Willebrand’s Disease (286.4), idiopathic thrombocytopenia (287), or Henoch-Schönlein Purpura
(287.0). "
So, if you want to disclose this, even though you believe it is inaccurate and you have medical evidence you don't have it, you will be disqualified. The more you can show that you don't have it (genetic testing, labs, etc), the better your chances of a waiver.
dmarie123's advice should be taken with caution. If you thought you had this condition for half your life (and were diagnosed with it) and it is on all your medical records for half your life it isn't as simple as one doctor saying you may not have it now. It would be a lie to omit this information as it requires a waiver regardless of what one doctor now may say. The paperwork you're going to fill out at MEPS is asking about your medical history, not what you or a doctor believes right now.
What dmarie123 is telling you would be good advice if it is something your mother or grandmother told you they thought you had at one point but were never diagnosed with it.
The choice is yours but I wanted you to know that omitting this information is a fraudulent enlistment and you will be separated if it is discovered later. On the other hand, it may prevent you from enlisting in the first place if they try and get a waiver for it.
I was a recruiting supervisor for 15 years and want you to have all the information.
Now that I'm thinking about this more, I'd like to recant my original advise. LBTRS is probably right.
I was thinking the OP was sure she had never had it, and had medical evidence to support that, but it appears it is in her records as recently as 9 months ago.
Better to disclose and get as much ammo as you can that you're healthy.
dmarie123's advice should be taken with caution. If you thought you had this condition for half your life (and were diagnosed with it) and it is on all your medical records for half your life it isn't as simple as one doctor saying you may not have it now. It would be a lie to omit this information as it requires a waiver regardless of what one doctor now may say. The paperwork you're going to fill out at MEPS is asking about your medical history, not what you or a doctor believes right now.
What dmarie123 is telling you would be good advice if it is something your mother or grandmother told you they thought you had at one point but were never diagnosed with it.
The choice is yours but I wanted you to know that omitting this information is a fraudulent enlistment and you will be separated if it is discovered later. On the other hand, it may prevent you from enlisting in the first place if they try and get a waiver for it.
I was a recruiting supervisor for 15 years and want you to have all the information.
That's just it... I can't seem to find any medical records that actually say I have it or diagnose me with it... I'd feel icky about not mentioning it even though it would get me in without a waiver. I can't take a chance on being booted. All the offices say the records have been destroyed, and I was never hospitalized or anything so no hospital records to my knowledge. I am continuing to try to get any and all records I can find, but everything I can get ahold of at the moment is just from the last 1.5 years since I got pregnant. The only other records it might exist on are dental records, and I doubt highly that they would go digging into those and even if they did, my records would again show that I had no complications or excessive bleeding (supporting the fact that I was mis-diagnosed).
On another note, I had to quit school early to work (worked 60hr weeks at 16 to pay the family bills) and I didn't get my HS diploma until I was 21. It has a state seal and says in plain English "High School Diploma", but I am wondering if this is something that will also make me an undesirable recruit despite my ASVAB and physical condition. I can honestly say that I graduated from high school, I just can't honestly say that I graduated "on-time" with my peers. Sigh. I know the deck is stacked against me. I just hate the fact that I'll always have this nagging feeling in the back of my head and a lot of 'what-if?' so I feel compelled to at least give enlistment a try.
Now that I'm thinking about this more, I'd like to recant my original advise. LBTRS is probably right.
I was thinking the OP was sure she had never had it, and had medical evidence to support that, but it appears it is in her records as recently as 9 months ago.
Better to disclose and get as much ammo as you can that you're healthy.
Yeah... I had to mention it to the docs in the off chance that I did have it and it would effect the baby. The pregnancy was what made me go to the doctor and get checked out, had I not gotten pregnant I would have just left it alone and lived my normal life. When the hematologist said she was not sure I ever had it... I could have cried. This is something that I carried with me for most of my life, something that I was told I had by someone that you're naturally inclined to trust. I always knew my mom was crazy, had drug problems etc... but I didn't even know what Munchhausen was until the last few years. I started connecting the dots and suddenly it all makes sense. She is still untreated but her mental condition continues to decline rapidly. We went as far as having her committed but it had little to no effect.
Is there anything in particular that the doctor can mention that might make the letter more concrete? Would going to 2 different specialists be helpful? I am more than happy to see multiple docs and get poked and prodded twice if it means that the docs at MEPS/higher up might take it more seriously.
I really appreciate both of you taking the time to reply. The recruiter still has yet to call me back but that might be a good thing, gives me plenty of time to get my ducks in a row. I mentioned this in my last reply to LBTRS, can you tell me anything about the diploma situation and if that would also require a waiver? I have the feeling that needing 2 waivers = no go.
"On another note, I had to quit school early to work (worked 60hr weeks at 16 to pay the family bills) and I didn't get my HS diploma until I was 21. It has a state seal and says in plain English "High School Diploma", but I am wondering if this is something that will also make me an undesirable recruit despite my ASVAB and physical condition. I can honestly say that I graduated from high school, I just can't honestly say that I graduated "on-time" with my peers. Sigh. I know the deck is stacked against me. I just hate the fact that I'll always have this nagging feeling in the back of my head and a lot of 'what-if?' so I feel compelled to at least give enlistment a try."
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