Anxiety/OCD/meds (merged)

[medicineman]

Option 2: Pick another trade. (Unless the CF says you're Medically unfit for all trades)

Failure to meet Universality of Service = failure to meet Common Enrollment Medical Standards = failure to qualify for any MOSID's.

MM

 

[Seize]

I didn't appeal the decision for the first few months because, to be honest, I was quite angry and perplexed as to their decision.

What I am appalled at is, the military is willing to take people who have done street drugs in the past but are not willing to work with people taking genuine medicine. It's understandable if the medication is something for schizophrenia, or something serious along those lines, but something like ocd, wow. The military should treat alcohol the same way then, because it's also a drug.

@Puckchaser
How and why would someone run out of medicine, that's like asking 'what if you run out of bullets while you're in battle'... the medicine becomes a part of your person, and the same measures would be in place to prevent it running out, as there are for not running out of ammo, or food, or water while you're overseas.
Not everyone who has ocd washes their hands 20 times in a day, or freaks out about something not being neat, these are all stereotypical forms of it.. there are different types of ocd, some are very mild and others are more severe.

 

[jaysfan17]

Failure to meet Universality of Service = failure to meet Common Enrollment Medical Standards = failure to qualify for any MOSID's.

MM

Oops. :facepalm:

I guess he has two options then.

I didn't appeal the decision for the first few months because, to be honest, I was quite angry and perplexed as to their decision.

What I am appalled at is, the military is willing to take people who have done street drugs in the past but are not willing to work with people taking genuine medicine. It's understandable if the medication is something for schizophrenia, or something serious along those lines, but something like ocd, wow. The military should treat alcohol the same way then, because it's also a drug.

@Puckchaser
How and why would someone run out of medicine, that's like asking 'what if you run out of bullets while you're in battle'... the medicine becomes a part of your person, and the same measures would be in place to prevent it running out, as there are for not running out of ammo, or food, or water while you're overseas.
Not everyone who has ocd washes their hands 20 times in a day, or freaks out about something not being neat, these are all stereotypical forms of it.. there are different types of ocd, some are very mild and others are more severe.

How would you know if there are measures in place to prevent running out of ammunition, food, medicine and water. There are so many 'what if' scenarios that would prove you wrong.

 

[JesseWZ]

@Puckchaser
How and why would someone run out of medicine, that's like asking 'what if you run out of bullets while you're in battle'... the medicine becomes a part of your person, and the same measures would be in place to prevent it running out, as there are for not running out of ammo, or food, or water while you're overseas.

That can happen... as can you having to bug out in a hurry and not being able to gather some of your kit (ie medication). You can't possibly say you carry a six month supply of medication on your person at all times and that no circumstance would prevent you from accessing it for 6 straight months... (or longer).

 

[Eye In The Sky]

I would suggest the bigger and real issue isn't how many pill bottles a person can carry in their battle rattle, it's the CONDITION they have been medically assessed as having to take medication for in the first place.  Some of them are not suitable for military service. 

Does it suck for the person who is screened out?  Yup. 

Remember, you had a condition that your doctor put you on whatever medication you are on for.  It was after that happened you tried to join.

There are many people who have and will be medically released from the Forces for not being able to meet the required medical standards.  Some of them will also have a hard time accepting it and also be frustrated and upset. Some will come to accept it and move on to the next phase of their lives.

I say this as someone who was facing a release at one point for a medical condition from a service related injury.

 

[Tibbson]

When I last deployed I had BP meds with me and I had to get them changed because the capsule coating kept melting the capsules together.  They changed them to a pill form and I still had the same problem but not so bad.  There are obviously other issues at play then running out or not having enough. 

 

[ballz]

What I am appalled at is, the military is willing to take people who have done street drugs in the past but are not willing to work with people taking genuine medicine. It's understandable if the medication is something for schizophrenia, or something serious along those lines, but something like ocd, wow. The military should treat alcohol the same way then, because it's also a drug.

People that have done drugs and no longer do them, don't need them, and won't become a liability when there is no marijuana available. If they have a history of drug addiction, they may not pass the medical either, but there's a million things to consider (I'm sure there is anyway, I'm not a healthcare professional) in that. At the end of the day, the CAF needs to be effective, its not about judging people for smoking a joint when they were 14, and it's not about "accommodating" through compromising effectiveness. Any compromise in effectiveness can needlessly get people killed.

How and why would someone run out of medicine, that's like asking 'what if you run out of bullets while you're in battle'... the medicine becomes a part of your person, and the same measures would be in place to prevent it running out, as there are for not running out of ammo, or food, or water while you're overseas.
Not everyone who has ocd washes their hands 20 times in a day, or freaks out about something not being neat, these are all stereotypical forms of it.. there are different types of ocd, some are very mild and others are more severe.

I'm sorry but you have no idea how service support works. Various means and methods are used to pack and transport ammo, water, food, consumables, parts, everything needed on the battlefield, to remote locations. The logistics involved is its own battle to ensure that troops at the front actually receive ammo, water, food, etc often enough so that they don't run out, and sometimes they do. Wars have been won and lost on logistics alone. It's not the postal service, do you really think its that simple to ensure Pte Bloggins has his "x" prescription filled? What about when your bottle of pills breaks open in your soak'n'wet kit and ruins them all, how quick do you think that prescription can be filled now? What about when you've got thousands of Pte Bloggins, each with their own unique prescription, and they are all located in different places, always constantly moving to new locations on the map?

It's much more effective to hire a Pte Bloggins that doesn't need that prescription to be effective.

 

[PuckChaser]

@Puckchaser
How and why would someone run out of medicine, that's like asking 'what if you run out of bullets while you're in battle'... the medicine becomes a part of your person, and the same measures would be in place to prevent it running out, as there are for not running out of ammo, or food, or water while you're overseas.
Not everyone who has ocd washes their hands 20 times in a day, or freaks out about something not being neat, these are all stereotypical forms of it.. there are different types of ocd, some are very mild and others are more severe.

An insulin pump becomes part of a person if they have Diabetes, and I'm pretty sure certain types of that breach UoS.

You need to do a better job cleaning up your posting history, because by the looks of it you have less than 2 years in the CAF and likely not a deployment. How would you know how about resupply on overseas missions? The reason we have these standards is because people are going to be put in austere environments, that quite likely have limited access to resources, and having certain conditions can have a big enough negative effect on your performance that you become a casualty.

 

[Seize]

Good posts.

ballz, with regards to the universality of service policy, why is it that the umbrella doesn't cover alcohol, even if it's not alcohol addiction or abuse, as alcohol is still a drug.

With my condition, even if I don't have my medicine for a few days nothing happens, it's if it is on on-going thing for like 10+ days that I start getting dizzyness and irritation..
So how long is it someone should be off the medicine before going back to reopen your file?

 

[ballz]

ballz, with regards to the universality of service policy, why is it that the umbrella doesn't cover alcohol, even if it's not alcohol addiction or abuse?

I am not sure what you are getting at with this. Why *would* the "umbrella" cover alcohol? How does someone getting black-out drunk on Friday nights at the mess affect their ability to operate overseas?

With my condition, even if I don't have my medicine for a few days nothing happens, it's if it is on on-going thing for like 10+ days that I start getting dizzyness and irritation..
So how long is it someone should be off the medicine before going back to reopen your file?

Like I said, I'm not a healthcare professional. I do not have any of these answers for you. I can only tell you that the reasons for these concerns about universality of service for those that require drugs are genuine and well-reasoned.

 

[medicineman]

ballz, with regards to the universality of service policy, why is it that the umbrella doesn't cover alcohol, even if it's not alcohol addiction or abuse, as alcohol is still a drug.

It does - and if a person appears to have an alcohol issue or overuse, abuse or outright alcoholism, they'll have to go through to process to ensure that they in fact aren't at high risk for ongoing problems like any other drug abuser.

Like it or not, OCD is an anxiety disorder that, when put under high stress and sleep deprivation (things like you deal with in Recruit training, exercises and deployments/combat), can wreak havoc with you...and that is on meds.  Imagine what happens when you don't have access to those.  You yourself have mentioned that after a few days without you get squirrely - if your meds get lost, destroyed, wrecked etc and it's going to take any number of days to get those to you or you back to somewhere you can get them replaced, all the while in a bad place with bad people around trying to do bad things to you all hours of the day and night, what's going to happen then?  You'll be ineffective...meaning some folks are going to have to risk their lives to get you to where you can get looked after AND replace you with someone who now has their life at risk as well until some other folks have to do the return trip with you...I think you see where this is going.  I hope.

I've said it here over and over again - it's not personal, it's business.  The CAF isn't obligated to give all applicants a job - if they fail to meet any of the pre-enrollment standards that they've set out, they don't get in.  A line has to be drawn as a cut off and it was...unfortunately you're on the wrong side of it.  You aren't the only one - seen many apply and many rejected.  Fact is, many illnesses, both physical and mental, have needs that cannot be provided for adequately in remote areas without certain levels of medical expertise, medical establishments and medical logistics; as a result, if you as an applicant are unable deploy to these areas (and they're almost always in far away places), well you're not getting in.

Sorry to hear about your problems - hope things work out for you.

MM

 

[ThePostulant]

Hello,

I have not yet applied to the military but I am hoping to. My question is about medication and the army (yes I read the previous threads about anxiety etc.) I want to enrol into the Chaplain Branch as I am attending seminary and soon to be a priest. I take antidepressants for anxiety and panic attacks but my anxiety has really been under control with medication. As well I occasionally take aides to help sleep as my anxiety medication (as counterintuitive as it may seem) contains a a stimulant. Now I understand normally this would be a disqualifier and I should discuss with a recruiter but I thought I would also get your folks opinion based on your military application experience. I am hopeful that because the role of chaplain is more of a supportive role and non-combat that I may still have a chance and whether it is worth applying?

I have been fortunate enough to be able to follow my vocation, but to be able to follow two callings that I feel compelled to serve in would be twice as great! In the end, if not medically fit I will understand that my role is probably best suited to serving civilian congregations as I know medical has restrictions in place for good reason!

I am just curious as to your thoughts with my anxiety and medication should I bother applying to the CF as a chaplain?

Thank you for any advice or opinions you can provide and for those who have been called to serve in the military and have followed that calling I thank you for all of the work you do! Try not to be too rough on me if my enrolment medical question seems redundant and repetitive to other threads :yellow:

 

[mariomike]

I take antidepressants for anxiety and panic attacks but my anxiety has really been under control with medication.

This may help,

Depression / Anti Depressants Merged Thread 
https://army.ca/forums/threads/13192.0
15 pages.

As always, best to contact Recruiting.

 

[Viam]

Hello all, I tried searching for "General Anxiety Disorder" on the site as well as google, but I only found examples of people who took medication such as Valium and Xanax either during or prior to their medical. I was diagnosed with GAD around 7 years ago after a small panic attack in Grade 3. I saw a psychologist for it for a good 6 months but I stopped due to me no longer requiring them. For the past 6 years, I've never had any medication for Anxiety and neither have I needed to attend another psychologist appointment.

I understand you are all not medical personnel, but I'm curious as to if someone with a mental health disorder such as mine got in without medication.

Thank you,

Viam.

 

[mariomike]

Have you read the Anxiety discussions?

Generalized Anxiety Disorder 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/13409.50.html
3 pages

Medical story - Anxiety 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/81604.0

Anxiety/OCD/meds (merged)
http://army.ca/forums/threads/97095.150
7 pages.

Anxiety and Sleeping issues and the military 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/121096.0

Anxiety
https://www.google.ca/search?q=site%3Aarmy.ca+Robin+Andrew+Clifford&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-CA:IE-Address&ie=&oe=&rlz=1I7GGHP_en-GBCA592&gfe_rd=cr&ei=slz0VoavA8uC8Qf7poGYDg&gws_rd=ssl#q=site:army.ca+anxiety

As always,  Recruiting is your most trusted source of information.

 

[DAA]

Hello all, I tried searching for "General Anxiety Disorder" on the site as well as google, but I only found examples of people who took medication such as Valium and Xanax either during or prior to their medical. I was diagnosed with GAD around 7 years ago after a small panic attack in Grade 3. I saw a psychologist for it for a good 6 months but I stopped due to me no longer requiring them. For the past 6 years, I've never had any medication for Anxiety and neither have I needed to attend another psychologist appointment.
I understand you are all not medical personnel, but I'm curious as to if someone with a mental health disorder such as mine got in without medication.
Thank you,
Viam.

Why bother asking?  Nobody here is going to be able to give you an answer.  You will get your "official" answer only after being subject to the medical at your local CFRC.

 

[Loachman]

All of those topics save "Medical story - Anxiety " have been merged into this one, and will no longer work.

 

[y.batanau]

Hi all,

I am currently applying for the Governor Generals Foot Guards as a NCM. My fitness test went very well, paperwork is going through recruiting as we speak. My only issue that I was prescribed medication for anxiety for a period of 1.5 years, I have been off medication for half a year and my doctor says I am in perfect health and fit for service. Would the medical officers disagree? Would this impede my application and overall acceptance into the Forces?

Thanks for the help,

Prospective CF Member 

 

[medicineman]

Unless your doc is a CAF Medical Officer, they can't make that assessment...you'll have to talk to the medical folks in Recruiting to find out what the current standard is for being off your medication prior to enrollment, since it seems to change with the tides and moon phases.

MM

 

[10yfaith]

Hey,

Back in '15 I was diagnosed with Anxiety. I was homeschooled for Grade 8, so going into Grade 9 was a big transition. Thus the anxiety. It really seems to have just been because of that switch, because 1 semester later, I'm completely fine. I am actually one of the most outgoing people you'll have ever met. I have ZERO anxiety. This just brings me to this one big problem. My medical records still say I have anxiety. My family, me, and everyone around me agree this really isn't the case and that it was just temporary, not chronic. What do I do? I've seen people get instantly denied for checking off "Anxiety" on the medical. If I really just technically don't have it, do I still have to check it off just due to my medical RECORDS saying I was diagnosed with it? Joining the CAF has been my dream since I was 10. I'm 16 now. If some stupid 4 months of my life are going to ruin my chances, then whatttt the hell.

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you.