USUHS and asthma

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cali_student

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Hey everyone, I currently interviewed for USUHS and I did my physical examination. I reported I had mild childhood asthma but I still have an inhaler just in case of emergencies. I’m a former collegiate div 1 athlete and I received a DQ for asthma after the age of 13. I’ve had no asthmatic episodes since I was 6 and I was wondering if it’s possible to receive a waiver for a situation like this. I’m also confident in my ability to pass a PFT. What does the waiver process look like? Also my ideal choice for USUHS was the Navy then Army and then the Air Force

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Hey everyone, I currently interviewed for USUHS and I did my physical examination. I reported I had mild childhood asthma but I still have an inhaler just in case of emergencies. I’m a former collegiate div 1 athlete and I received a DQ for asthma after the age of 13. I’ve had no asthmatic episodes since I was 6 and I was wondering if it’s possible to receive a waiver for a situation like this. I’m also confident in my ability to pass a PFT. What does the waiver process look like? Also my ideal choice for USUHS was the Navy then Army and then the Air Force

You'll probably be referred to a pulmonologist for evaluation. If they give their blessing then they will send you back MEPS and then they would apply for the waiver and then you would have to wait to see if the waiver is approved.
 
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I’m a former collegiate div 1 athlete and I received a DQ for asthma after the age of 13. I’ve had no asthmatic episodes since I was 6 and I was wondering if it’s possible to receive a waiver for a situation like this.

I was just accepted into USUHS for Fall 2021 (Army) and was in the same exact boat as you - I was DQ'd for a history of sports-induced asthma after the age of 13, but I was able to get a medical waiver for it.

What does the waiver process look like?

Unfortunately, the process was long and slow. I'll start this off by saying you need to begin the waiver process now by emailing the Commissioning Office explaining the situation. Otherwise, you will be waitlisted and cannot be removed from said waitlist until you are cleared (I know this because this is exactly what happened to me last year. I never made it off the waitlist because securing the waiver took too long, forcing me to reapply). It's as simple as emailing the Commissioning Office saying, "I would like to request a medical waiver." I heard a response back in less than 48 hours.

As for the process, I had to submit a letter outlining my history of asthma, a doctor's note describing their assessment, and a transcript from my pharmacy showing all prescriptions filled for the past 3 years. You submit these documents to the physician managing your case, and they will follow up with you on any additional information they need.

In my case, I didn't have a PCP or pulmonologist to submit a doctor's note on my behalf. Instead, I had to get in touch with a brand new pulmonologist in order to schedule a pulmonary function test. I'm lucky in that my asthma is very mild - I have no overt symptoms and I haven't taken any prescription medications for the past 5 years. Despite that, my function test revealed that I am still moderately obstructed.

Because of that, the Commissioning Office requested that I take a methacholine challenge test. Methacholine exacerbates the symptoms of asthma, and is basically a method of quantifying how bad your asthma is. My pulmonologist refused to administer it as the test is contraindicated for confirmed asthmatics. I had him submit a letter to the Office saying why methacholine is a bad idea, and they added it to my case file. I swore to God that that was going to be an instant death sentence to my acceptance, but nope, I got the waiver a few weeks later. So, don't be afraid to plead your case and stick up for yourself.

Word of warning: for every reply I got from the Commissioning Office, I had to email 2 or 3 times to get a response. I would follow up to see if they reviewed the new documents I sent them, only to find that they haven't even opened the pdf. You will have to advocate for yourself and push them (gently) in order to get your waiver completed in any timely manner.
 
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