Depression / Anxiety / PTSD / Medication Waiver APPROVED!

After a year of trying to get into the Navy, I finally got my three mental health waivers approved! I wanted to write this post to give people some insight into my waiver journey. I know I googled a ton of waiver questions just to feel like I had a chance lol.

Background:

  • History of Depression, Anxiety, PTSD
  • Treatment for aforementioned conditions, which included seeing psychologists, psychiatrists, and attendance at an IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program) for 6 months.
  • I was medicated to treat aforementioned conditions (Sertraline & Bupropion)

Here's how it went:

I called a recruiter and was told that I would have to be off my current medications for at least 6 months before I could join the navy. I was taking Sertraline and Bupropion at the time and I promptly contacted my doctors and got it on record that I was off my medication (After 2 weeks of weaning off of them).

I was not receiving any treatment or seeing any psychiatrist or psychologist for about 9 months by the time I talked to my recruiter. I had no symptoms and was deemed a 'well-adult' by my doctors. Even off my medication I was thriving and mentally stable. My doctors noted that in my files to make it easier for me to join, but I'm not sure if that helped at all.

After the 6 months had passed, I contacted my recruiter again and we began the pre-screening for MEPS. He had me retrieve my entire medical history to be sent up to MEPS for review. I was half-honest and didn't mention my PTSD, as it was diagnosed at the IOP and I wasn't sure if it would show up on my medical records. Spoiler alert: It did.

It took a few months to get MEPS to approve me, but I was eventually approved to go to MEPS based on the pre-screening. I passed the physical with no problems, but the medical history is what got me into trouble. They went over my medical history with me and asked me if I had any conditions, and pulled up my PTSD diagnosis. All three of my past conditions disqualified me, and I was sent off to make my waivers requests.

I had to get three waivers: One for depression/anxiety, one for having taken medication, and one for the PTSD. I had to write if/how the conditions affected me (They didn't) and if I was medicated for my conditions (I wasn't). The waivers I wrote out sounded too vague and didn't seem very convincing, so I wasn't sure if they would be approved.

It took about three weeks for the waiver authorities to come back to my recruiter and tell him they needed more stuff. They requested these things:

  • A consult with a psychiatrist/psychologist
  • Passing results on a PRT test
  • Three letters of recommendations from my employers from the past three years

The PRT test follows the same standards as the one you'll have to do in the Navy. Thankfully I had been working out beforehand to prepare for bootcamp so I passed it. My recruiter and a chief from the recruiting office observed the test.

The big problem I had was the consult and the letter of recommendations. I had never been employed before, so instead I had to sign a form stating that I had never had a job. I sent in 4 letters of recommendations from my college professors instead, and it seemed to do the job.

It took about a month for my consult to be scheduled. It varies from person to person but my consult was in-person, not telehealth. I met the doctor who simply wanted to have a conversation with me about my mental health. He asked me what had happened, what I did to cope, and how I grew and became able to cope on my own. He also asked me about my sleep schedule, my diet, my exercising habits, my coping skills, what makes me upset still and if I'm impacted in my daily life in any way. It was nerve-wracking, but I laid out all my cards on the table and was honest with him (but not too honest). He appreciated my honesty and he was sympathetic to how the military expects people to have no past history of anything, which isn't really something that can be avoided.

Basically, he wanted to know if I was ready to join the military. It wasn't a long talk, maybe 40 minutes, and then I was free to go. He didn't bring up any specific questions about my past conditions, so I'm not sure if he actually had access to my medical records at all.

My recruiter stated it would take about two weeks for the doctor to send the results to the waiver authorities, and sure enough about two weeks later my waiver was approved! I'm going to MEPS to pick my job soon, and I just wanted to let you guys know that it's possible. If you try and don't mind waiting a while, your waivers can get approved. Don't give up hope!!!

EDIT: I DON'T have a ship date or a job picked out yet, but I'm heading to MEPS this Thursday to pick my job and to swear into DEP.