Waiver Denied and Need Help

[Hobbes]

Hello Marines,

I Depped into the Marine Corps back in September of 2011 while still in High School. In January of 2012 when I went up to MEPS to take part in the IST, the Liaison requested us to make sure to notifiy them on anything that we may have forgotten medical or anything resent. Well I asked them about a case where I was having a sleep walking problem since the age of four but have stopped after the age of 16. They told me that I would need to have a sleep study done to figure out any problem. Well after taking the study, the doctors stated they found "Slight Sleep Apnea" and when I told my recruiter he stated that it could disqualify me. I had another doctor look at it and he stated that on the rating chart they go by, what the other doctors found was extremely lower then 5%. So with that he wrote a letter for Bu-med to read with everything else I sent up stating that there was nothing there.
Well I just found out today that I was denied and that my future with the Marines has been stopped. Well of course I said "No way in hell am I giving up" so I've been searching these forums for hours. I've read somewhere that under the Erratum MCO P1100.75c section 8.5 that "Applicants appearing for reexamination because of previous disqualification for a remedial or temporary medical condition will undergo a physical inspection if the previous examination was conducted within 2 years. The physical inspection will place emphasis on the previously disqualifying defect." Also read somewhere that I could possibly write a letter to my Congressman/Congresswoman about my situation.
My question is that would I be able to get something done about this slight sleep apnea garbage and then undergo the physical again in September of 2013 and show I don't have sleep apnea? I don't want to go crying to big daddy and asking for help from my local Congressman. My recruiter stated he wouldn't know about this and would need to find more information on it. Or is my best bet just to move on with life and be a civilian (Which I won't do while my heart beats and I know I will fight on to be a Marine). Thank you Marines for reading this and giving your personal thoughts.

[Zulu 36]

First of all, going to your Congressman is pretty much a waste of time since they usually defer to the military in these matters. They write a letter, get a technical response (which is handled by a staffer), and you get a letter saying essentially, "Sorry, nothing we can do." If the BUMED answer fits within the BUMED standard decision matrix, that's about as far as the Congressman will push it.

You can try to appeal the BUMED decision in accordance with their procedures. Just remember that military service is a privilege, not a right.

[Hobbes]

Thank you for replying sir. I thought writing a letter to my Congressman would end up me wasting my time and probably ****ing off the Marine Corps. How would someone appeal a BUMED? Is that something I should just discuss with my recruiter? And it's not just a privilege to serve sir, it's an honor. Especially with family that has done it for two centuries.

[Lisa 23]

Sleep Apnea "garbage" as you say, is nothing to fool around with and should be taken very seriously.


Sleep Apnea
The Greek word "apnea" literally means "without breath." Sleep apnea is an involuntary cessation of breathing that occurs while the patient is asleep. There are three types of aleep apnea: obstructive, central, and mixed. Of the three, obstructive sleep apnea, often called OSA for short, is the most common.

Despite the difference in the root cause of each type, in all three, people with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for a minute or longer. In most cases the sleeper is unaware of these breath stoppages because they don't trigger a full awakening.

Left untreated, sleep apnea can have serious and life-shortening consequences: high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, automobile accidents caused by falling asleep at the wheel, diabetes, depression, and other ailments.

Sleep apnea is seen more frequently among men than among women, particularly African-American and Hispanic men. A major symptom is extremely loud snoring, sometimes so loud that bed partners find it intolerable. Other indications that sleep apnea may be present are obesity, persistent daytime sleepiness, bouts of awakening out of breath during the night, and frequently waking in the morning with a dry mouth or a headache. But none of these symptoms is always present. Only a sleep study in a sleep laboratory or a home sleep study can show definitively that sleep apnea is present and how severe it is.

Obstuctive sleep apnea is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapses and closes during sleep. In central sleep apnea, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe. Mixed sleep apnea, as the name implies, is a combination of the two. With each apnea event, the brain rouses the sleeper, usually only partially, to signal breathing to resume. As a result, the patient's sleep is extremely fragmented and of poor quality.

Sleep apnea is very common, as common as type 2 diabetes. It affects more than 18 million Americans, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Risk factors include being male, overweight, and over the age of 40, but sleep apnea can strike anyone at any age, even children. Yet still because of the lack of awareness by the public and health care professionals, the vast majority of sleep apnea patients remain undiagnosed and therefore untreated, despite the fact that this serious disorder can have significant consequences.

Untreated, sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease, memory problems, weight gain, impotence, and headaches. Moreover, untreated sleep apnea may be responsible for job impairment and motor vehicle crashes. Fortunately, sleep apnea can be diagnosed and treated. Several treatment options exist, and research into additional options continues.

http://sleepapnea.org/learn/sleep-apnea.html

[Tennessee Top]

Maybe, in past years when the military struggled to get qualified applicants your situation may have been looked upon more favorably. But, in todays all volunteer force where they can afford to be more picky, I really think you have a lost cause and should just move on.

Good luck.

[Hobbes]

Yes sir I understand how serious Sleep Apnea is. But when I had my sleep study done they said it was my snoring and not stopping while I slept. The one doctor that I got a second opinion from said surgery could help stop it by removing my tonsils. Though he said my tonsils didn't look enlarged and didn't effect it that much. But did insist that removing them could make a difference. I don't see a reason of needing them to be a Marine. Unless Meps finds that as a disqualifying. I read on Marine Times that sleep apnea was being common in the Marine Corps with those that were stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan from the stress of combat. I wonder if they were allowed to stay in.

[Hobbes]

No offense Master Sergeant but I won't see it as a lost cause until the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps or the Commandant tells me to sit down and move on.

[josephd]

..I read on Marine Times that sleep apnea was being common in the Marine Corps with those that were stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan from the stress of combat. I wonder if they were allowed to stay in.

sleep apnea induced by stress in country is quite a bit different than it being a natural occurrence(your case, as minor as it may be). And sleeping in combat is a luxury anyway so....

If your waiver was denied that is pretty much and the closest thing to the Sgt Maj and the Commandant telling you to sit down and move on. Those decisions go through the operations officer in your recruiting district who go by direct word/orders from HQMC.

[DanM]

No offense Master Sergeant but I won't see it as a lost cause until the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps or the Commandant tells me to sit down and move on.

It is a medical decision...... the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps or the Commandant has no say in the matter. It is soley BUMED and the Navy doctors who determine all medical problems.

[Zulu 36]

Yes sir I understand how serious Sleep Apnea is. But when I had my sleep study done they said it was my snoring and not stopping while I slept. The one doctor that I got a second opinion from said surgery could help stop it by removing my tonsils. Though he said my tonsils didn't look enlarged and didn't effect it that much. But did insist that removing them could make a difference. I don't see a reason of needing them to be a Marine. Unless Meps finds that as a disqualifying. I read on Marine Times that sleep apnea was being common in the Marine Corps with those that were stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan from the stress of combat. I wonder if they were allowed to stay in.

Marines (and other service members) often come down with medical issues after boot camp. They are allowed to stay in many cases because the issues are relatively minor and have a service-caused connection.

The military allows people with missing limbs to stay in if they choose and can pass PFTs, but you can't enlist with a missing limb. Same with other matters such as sleep apnea.

[Tennessee Top]

No offense Master Sergeant but I won't see it as a lost cause until the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps or the Commandant tells me to sit down and move on.

Just like the doc said, your case will never cross the SgtMaj's or CMC's desks. Even if it did, they do not have the authority to over-ride decisions by BUMED anyway. That's just the way the system is set up; medical decisions are made by doctors not Marines. Imagine the chaos it would create if the CMC did overturn a doctor's ruling; then, every applicant like yourself would have a valid reason to demand equal treatment. In no time at all, that's all the CMC would be doing is reviewing complaints by people who were found medically unqualified by BUMED. I know you don't like the answer but we can't always tell people what thay want to hear. Unfortunately, life just doesn't work that way.

[fl1946]

Whether you are CMC, SgtMaj or civilian, if you make any medical judgement or decision you are practicing medicine and subject to arrest. Fact.

[Hobbes]

Haha sorry Marines I didn't mean that I was going to have the CMC or Sergeant Major of the MC look it over just a saying of that I'm not going to give up as long as I can find a way. Does anyone know if the Erratum MCO P1100.75c section 8.5 actually stands for situations like this? Corpsman DanM, sir, with someone with a medical background, do you know if it actually lets you try to re-enlist two years from your physical if dq'd? Sorry if you don't know like the 90% of Marines would didn't work in Meps or recruiting, I'm just wondering if someone with medical background like yours may know something on this matter.

[Lisa 23]

I read on Marine Times that sleep apnea was being common in the Marine Corps with those that were stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan from the stress of combat. I wonder if they were allowed to stay in.

You, as an applicant, the Marine Corps has very little time and money invested in you. They have lots of time and money already invested in that active duty member, however. If a medical condition is diagnosed after one is on active duty (assuming it's not a pre-existing condition that the member lied about, which is an entirely different story), the Marine Corps isn't going to discharge them unless a Medical Evaluation Board determines the member can't perform his/her duties.




Young man, you can word your questions any way you want.....they have been asked an answered. None of the Marines or Corpsman here have any idea if you would be granted a waiver or not.


There are no doctors frequenting this website. If you have a medical question that hasn’t already been answered by searching the forums, you’ll have to contact a recruiting office. If they cannot answer your question, you may be directed to a medical representative from MEPS.

Again, read that one carefully. We are Marines (and a few Corpsman). We are not doctors. Medical questions will usually be answered by someone cutting and pasting a section from the about.com website. We cannot explain why your waiver was denied and someone elses was granted. Sorry but that's the way THAT is, too.

[Hobbes]

Understood sir, thank you for your time.