ADHD treatment and ROTC/Army

[Smithdad]

So I have an almost 18 year old daughter interested in joining Army ROTC in the fall...during first year of college. Just discovered that the Army/ROTC will not accept you if you are medically treated for ADHD unless you can prove you are fine without the meds for 12 months.

So I have a question to anyone who raised a child thru to adulthood with ADHD meds. Were you notified by your prescribing doctor at any point prior to your child turning 18 that the treatment could affect his/her ability to serve in the armed forces? Because we werent and I am shocked that our doctor never had this conversation with us to "warn" us of possible career ramifications. We just stumbled upon this info from another "surprised" parent.

My daughter is fortunate to be mildly afflicted and is on the lowest dosage of Concerta. AJust last year, we even thought of possibly experimenting with taking her off and see if she was functioning fine. But part of me felt why change it before high school ends. But this info definitely would have been part of the discussion had we known. There could have been discussions of other options to deal with it ... Its possible they would not have been as effective, but we at least could have found out.

I feel we let her down and will be having the discussion with her this week. Yet I feel my doctor should have informed us of these possibilities when she turned 17. I never even thought to ask. Though she will most likely be DQed from ROTC, she could reapply in a year when off meds...but she didnt want to wait....and there are no guarantees.

So now I am torn on what to do. I believe 1st year of college will be tremendously challenging for her and dont want her to start experimenting now with other options unless she knew for certain, she would be fine. I would have felt far more comfortable doing it this past year where we could really observe her and monitor her behavior.

But honestly...should we be upset with our pediatrician for not informing us of these issues. Shouldnt the doctors office make this discussion mandatory in her junior year at any of the 4 med checks we sat thru last year. Again...we had no idea and I would bet a lot of parents out there would have no idea.

BTW...after discussing with my doctor, he didnt feel it was his duty and wasnt obligated. his feeling was treatment of a condition is separate from the potential road blocks it may present as an adult. I disagree as I feel it is a big part of the equation... exactly in the same way we all weigh "side effects" against the risk of not treating any condition. It should be part of making an informed treatment plan.

[Terrilynn04]

As a member of the armed forces myself (Air Force), I absolutely understand your concern and confusion. There is such a huge list of disqualifying conditions that I personally think it would be impossible for an MD to be able to know which ones “close doors” and which ones don’t. I will say, however, that after nearly 38 years of service combined between my husband and I, there is usually a waiver for everything. Depending on what your daughter wants to do, I would consider being open to a different service. What may be a show stopper in the Army may be more easily waived in the Air Force or, especially, in the National Guard (every state has one). My husband and I left the active duty to join the Air National Guard after realizing that they were much more people oriented and you weren’t just another replaceable number. In general, the Guard has a variety of ways you can serve. I’m currently serving in a part time capacity to stay home with my kids while my husband served full time. Either way, part time or full time, most states offer tuition (full in the New England states and some others across the country, partial in others). The bottom line is “never take no for an answer.” My husband and I are both fighter pilots and had we listened to the “no” we both have gotten in our careers, we wouldn’t be where we are today. P.S. my 6 yr. old daughter has severe adhd and ataxia (she is a special case with a genetic mutation)...I am already thinking about the doors her condition may have closed in her future so, again, I completely understand your disappointment. Good luck!

[Pennywink in reply to Terrilynn04]

I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s ataxia. I’ve had a grandfather and two cousins suffer from it.

[seller]

My son tried to join the Navy when he was 19. He's been treated for ADHD since age 9. His recruiter told him he would be allowed to join if he had been off his medications for one year, and I don't think he'd been taking them consistently for awhile anyway, so he stopped. It takes forever to actually get into the military, so he worked, went to Navy meetings, etc. After about 18 months, he was finally sent to boot camp, only to be returned about 3 weeks later for "medical" reasons, specifically his ADHD. There were 15 other kids on the bus home for the same reason. My son had 2 friends who tried for waivers, but were also denied. We were all angry at his recruiter, who I'm sure knew my son would be sent home, but wanted his "numbers". After our experience, we've heard about this happening to others. I would be very cautious about anything military recruiters tell your daughter.

[Elijah1]

I agree with Terrilynn04 that her doctor is not responsible for knowing all the disqualifying conditions. The doctor's role is treating her ADHD to make sure she succeeds in school and other settings during childhood and adolescence. Without the development of good life habits and school success, she would be at a disadvantage when finishing high school for good achievement in any area, not just the armed forces.

That said, she can try to go without medication and see if she functions adequately (but has to be honest with herself about the need, if any, for medication). I know several young men who have been successful in joining the armed forces after stopping medication. Remember, up to half of the childhood ADHD individuals may improve so they are not longer clinically symptomatic as adults.

[Smithdad in reply to Elijah1]

I understand now that it is impossible to know ALL the potential disqaualifiers that taking a medication may present but we were never made aware of ANY potential career disqualifying aspect of the meds. I agree that treating the condition to make it through schooling is first and foremost, but that decision is never made in a bubble. Every med has a side effect and must be relayed to the patient and weighed aagainst the benefits. But if the dr decides to NOT even mention a serious side effect that potentially effects their future...that is negligent in my opinion. I would have done the research if I was at least told there were potential limitations ahead. At age 17, all he had to do was tell me that being on this medication may effect "some" career path choices (and he admitted he knew that) so that would be the time to "explore other options" if we both chose. That simple statement, then, would have left us numerous options at a time when we as parents could have observed the effects of med changes. At 18, and her headed off to college, options are much more limited. I really dont think its asking too much of a doctor to remind patients of possible roadblocks while they can do something about it. And I pray she is one of the 50% who outgrow the symptoms...we will see I guess. Thank you for your response.

[Dsmith05]

In addition to not being able to join the ARMY/ROTC, other jobs are affected as well. You cannot be pilot on stimulants. You can be denied positions that are not covered by ADA or have ADA exceptions. Also, stimulants do show up in drug screening tests. Most of the time the drug testing company notifies the soon to be employee for their prescription information, but sometime employers do find out. Sometimes that is a problem sometimes not.

I have seen on reddit where some adult ADHDers are required to sign a contract with their doctors stating that they will not take any other drugs(assuming illegal) or consume alcohol while on stimulants. They are also given random drug tests by their doctors to make sure that the stimulant is in their system and they are not selling them on the side. This would be a problem for those that only take as needed. I have seen where people where denied their prescriptions due to these practices.

Also, there are several countries that you are not allowed to bring in stimulant medications even as a tourist. Japan is one of them. I have been trying to find a list of all of them but no luck yet.

My son is 8 and had been experiencing really bad side effects from Vyvnase which sent down this rabbit hole of research. After discovering all the potential limitations, discrimination, and general indignities of remaining on stimulants into adulthood I chose to take him off them and am working towards helping him control, cope, and (hopefully) diminish his adhd/odd symptoms as much as possible.

But this isn't something anyone tells you and even talks about. Thank you for making this post. Good luck on your journey!