Waiver of antidepressants without depression?

[IvoryCharlie]

Thank you for your attention Rangers and gentlemen,
Becoming a Ranger has been a dream of mine for longer than I can recall. I
am currently 17 years old, and am at a boarding school in Massachusetts,
mainly to get away from a fractured home in the United States Virgin
Islands. I have talked to two recruiters, each on the island of St.Thomas,
and I was dismayed by the lack of enthusiasm that they had about their
jobs: one wanted me to enlist as a driver and the other kept pitching being
a chef. I graduate high school July of 2015, and I was informed by these
recruiters that they have no idea as to whether or not I will need a waiver
for two surgeries that I had on my shoulder (left clavicle fracture was
plated and Labrum was repaired after a rugby injury in June of 2013).

I don't think that getting the waivers will be the problem in obtaining an
option 40, because these injuries are fully healed and an ETP doesn't seem
that unlikely with fully healed injuries that don't affect me in any way.
What bothers me is the Trazedone and Klonopin prescriptions which I
received in November of 2013 for sleep deprivation.
I WAS NEVER DIAGNOSED WITH DEPRESSION! However, each of these prescriptions
are anti-depression/anxiety in nature. I didn't sleep for weeks at a time
and I was succumbing to a demented state, and these pills helped me break
the cycle. I used Trazedone for 3 weeks, and it didn't help me at all, so I
switched to Klonopin for 6 days. This cleared up my issue, and I have since
regained the ability to sleep "normally".

I don't see how this would even be a problem, because I have read about
people INSIDE the Army being prescribed the same medications. The problem
as I see it is, these people are not in any sort of special operations.
Is it even possible to get an exception to policy for the waiver that may
be required for anti-depressants? Should I just give up my dreams of being
a ranger, or is there another route? I have considered joining the Army and
then applying later, but I am unfamiliar with this topic in regards to
having waivers: will this be an impossibility because of the fact that I
will have a waiver and will be disqualified from airborne school?

[PerryB]

The guidance that we have been getting from USAREC and the Infantry branch for the past couple of weeks is if you need a medical waiver you will not be able to get an Option 40. The Army is down sizing and they will only take the best qualified applicants. This doesn't mean you cannot try once you're in the Army but as an inital entry it isn't going to be possible. Now I have no idea if you'll need a waiver or not. That will be up to the MEPS medical officer.

Perryb

[IvoryCharlie]

Thank you for the information PerryB. I realize that it will be very unlikely for me to obtain an Option 40, so I am wondering if it would make sense for me to look at other SOF options, or even enlist into the army without Option 40 and hope for the best. From other posts on this forum it seems like it is difficult to become a Ranger with prior service, and I want to make sure that I have a chance to eventually become a part of the Regiment if I do end up following this procedure while I have waivers that would DQ me from airborne. After doing several searches through this forum, there are no conclusive answers that would pertain to my situation, so if someone has the knowledge could you please fill me in if becoming a Ranger is a possibility for me?

[IvoryCharlie]

IvoryCharlie the information you got from PerryB was dead on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you for the confirmation, Ranger ManchuV. Would it be a possibility to get an Option 4 for airborne training with any waivers at the moment? I believe that by July of 2015 my PT scores will be quite good, judging by by two week progression from 56 pushups and 68 situps to 80 pushups and situps in two minutes (along with a 15 second decrease in my 2 mile time, down to a 13:20), and if it is a possibility to get at least Airborne I believe that I could graduate near the top, therefore *hopefully* garnering the attention of those in charge of RASP. Your information, PerryB, I thank you for, and I am just hoping that the USAREC policy towards med waivers changes before I enlist, or even if the MEPS doctors clear me; if not, I need to have a backup plan...

[PerryB]

IvoryCharlie, if you require a medical waiver it is doubtful you'll qualify for an Airborne contract. If you do require a waiver, once it is approved you can ask the Meps CMO (the Doctor) to qualify you for Airborne training. If he does does qualify you the counselors at the meps can submit an exception for Airborne training. If the exception is approved you can take an open airborne slot. Right now it is almost impossible to get 11X with Airborne training. This is due to the 75% failure rate for the Special Forces Recruit program. Those failure go directly to Airborne infantry units which in turn take up slots for new soldiers.

Perry

[IvoryCharlie]

Thank you for your answers PerryB, you gave me some peace-of-mind towards what to expect. Hopefully everything falls through, but if not, I will be glad to serve the United States of America in some other way, and should there be a change in regs, I will enlist (if DQs are "permanent") or reenlist in a manner that will allow me to serve with JSOC. I'll try to stay stubborn, but if there is truly no possibility due to these waivers that i may require, there are other ways to live satisfactorily.

[Jim]

Have you been working with a recruiter?

[IvoryCharlie]

Will do, Ranger MadBSTRD.
Ranger Jim, I have been in contact with a Marine recruiter because I know many people who have enlisted through him, but obviously I would not sign anything with him. He's a respectable guy, and I appreciate his help with PT recommendations and such, however I am not interested in becoming a Marine. The Army recruiters whom I have talked to in the Virgin Islands are not very helpful (judging by their emphasis on the potential that I have to be an Army Chef/Driver), and since I live in Western Massachusetts most of the time, I am currently trying to get in touch with the recruiting office in Springfield/Chicopee. The office is about 20 miles from my current location, and I do not own a car, so the moment that I find a ride I will go there. Hopefully everything goes well...

[Jim]

Do what you need to! Never, never quit!

[IvoryCharlie]

For anyone wondering, antidepressants are apparently not disqualifying if they are not prescribed to treat depression or anxiety. If you have an antidepressant prescription, get your medical records regarding WHY you have such a prescription, and if they indicate that you have (admitted to have) thought about or attempted suicide THEN you are screwed. As sleep aids, trazedone and klonopin are not disqualifying, according to a local recruiter.
Too bad I'll need waivers for other things, but oh well.
Thanks again for your input, everyone.

[Silverback]

Deleted...I misread the original post.