Topic: ASTHMA FAQ's

[Sauder]

I‘m only 15 but i was just curious if they allow asthmatics in the cf any info? THNX

[Saemus Duffy]

When you admit to the MO or Physicians Assistant that you suffer from asthma your entire application process will come to a screeching halt. You will be required to take what‘s called a "methacholine" challenge test. This test requires that you stop taking any and all asthma med‘s for one month. The test will be administered by a Respirologist at a hospital. The test is designed to measure your lung output volume while attempting to stimulate an asthmatic response. If you do have asthma, they will give some ventolin to counter the response. The CF views asthma as "a career limitation" depending upon your trade. Rule yourself out for diving and aircrew. Inf??? their crying for guys in the infantry. Good Luck

Note: do not withhold this medical information, penalties are swift and severe

[Sauder]

I just had to be born with asthma! owell thnx for the info.

[Gumby]

Asthma is touchy, but when it is controlled it‘s not usually a problem.  There are a few olympic medallists that had asthma.  I‘ve seen people with asthma go very far, I guess it depends on the person.

[Habitant]

Hi all,

A friend of mine is looking to join up in the reserves - specifically logisitcs, like me. He will have no problem meeting all the requirements but suffers from mild asthma.

It is nothing that causes attacks, but makes it slighltly harder to run if he does not use an inhaler. Will this restrict his entry into the army?

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks for your time!

Gabriel

[portcullisguy]

I have seen guys use an inhaler, I have no idea as to their medical status on entry into the CF however.

I would _imagine_ (in other words I don‘t really know) that if the asthma wasn‘t TOO bad, as in it could be controlled, then he‘d be ok.  Would probably expect to have to provide a medical certificate.

Best option - ask a recruiter, or medical pers working in a recruiting office.

[klumanth]

I had a guy on my three‘s course with asthma.  He made it just fine but he did have a tough time with PT, especially runs.  Mind you he was also lazy.  In short, your friend shouldn‘t have any major problems with joining the army.  The recruiting process may be slower however, because there may be more paperwork to fill out.

[robreadman]

I‘m Currently in the recruiting process as a reserve officer and I have mild asthma. I told the Medical personnel about it and Then I had to send some document to my doctor and he is taking his sweet time filling those out, it does make the process take longer but it shouldn‘t be too much of a problem. It all depends on what the medical review board thinks that‘s the main thing.

[BSpencer]

Hello there,

I was wondering about if there is ANYTHING I could do to remedy my situation.  When I was younger I had asthma (I‘m 18 now).  Now, a year and a half ago I recieved medication to trial on whether or not I had exercise enduced asthma, which was found to be false.  It all had related to a cold I was suffering.  So after spending the past 10 months trying to get tests done to prove I don‘t have asthma, I finally show I don‘t, and I get rejected saying that the documentation recieved let them to believe I have excise enduced asthma/cold wheather enduced asthma.  My doctor is shocked that I was refused, as in his opinion, and mine, I don‘t have these conditions.  I run fine, never have asthma attacks, never would, I know for a fact.  I play very active sports (Rugby, Hockey) in all weather conditons, and yet they still believe that I have these forms of asthma.  Since my application cannot pass without approval from the medical staff, I am out of luck, and was wondering what I could do to show them...

I really want to get in, I have the ability no doubt...

Thanks,

 

[Dano]

What you need to do is start getting doctors notes stating and explaining what happended and that it wouldn‘t effect you‘re performence, ect.

[shaunlin41]

Try getting your family doctor to write a medical letter, I know it can be expensive but it may help though you should First ask cfrc if it would help to get such a letter and ask if there is something else that is the reason for your rejection, the asthma may be smoke and mirrors?

[jutes85]

I think that the military doctors blow things out of porportion. I had a similar situation a couple of months ago when i applied. During the medical i said that i had a past hockey injury regarding my shoulder. I was not sure if i dislocated it or not, but tests done on it (my shoulder) the day after said it was just a slight torn muscle, with no dislocation evidence. Well, my medical examiner, who is a moron, IMHO, made a huge deal about how i must get some kind of putty surgery or something like that to stablize it. Although, there was ablsolutely NO EVIDENCE of a seperation. I showed him this file, but it did not convince him and he made me goto a orthipedic specialist. Luckily, my neighbor is one so i did not have to wait. Finally, he accepted it and i finished my reqruitment. He waisted 2 months of my life and made me miss Basic this fall, so i have to wait for the one this spring i believe.

So, you never know what moron might screw you over.

[BSpencer]

Thanks for the info and ideas...

I think I‘ll go to my doctor ASAP. I‘m sure he‘ll write something up, like I said before, he was shocked to find out I was rejected.  

Also, from the looks of it, the Major that looked over my medical info, must not have read into all the detail I sent.  My doctor stated several times in the notes that there was nothing that could stop me from performing well.  

Just wish things could get straitened out, I first applied 10 months ago, and all I‘ve done since is get test after test that SHOW I don‘t have any problems.

 

[Duotone81]

3885, I know EXACTLY what you‘re going through. A few years ago I applied for the reserves while I was in school. Everything was good to go except for the blood pressure part of my medical. I had to get a doctor‘s note saying I was fine and I did. The GP saw no problems with my blood pressure and concluded that I suffer from "white coat hypertension" which means I get anxious in a hospital. Some people can‘t stand heights or closed spaces or spiders. I don‘t like hospitals. Borden got the note and was unconvinced and sent me to see a cardiologist. He also saw no problem with me. He‘s a heart specialist to boot!! Borden in all their wisdom deemed me medically unfit for the CF until I get the blood pressure in a more stable range. I believe the cardiologist found my average BP at 132/72. I was within a healthy range according to him. I qualified for every MOC from my CFAT, the PO told me my application was competitve for RMC and I was running a 7 minute mile but none of that means anything until this pain in my a** issue is taken care of. My advice to you would be to go back to the recruiting centre to find out exactly if you can re-apply after a later date if your situation improves and see a specialist in the mean time to see how you can minimize the affects of your condition.

Good luck bro

[Joel85]

I got shafted too because of a cuncussion 3 years ago. The medical board seriously needs to stop letting minor medical problems get in the way. They‘re allowing a lot of very valuable prospective soldiers to slip away.

[Enzo]

Sorry guys, got you all beat. I posted a thread about it awhile ago, it was long and detailed, look it up. Here‘s the thing, injured in infantry, got out. Healed, on way back in, civ dr. wrote, "mild lower back pain" in a section of my file. He asked me, "do you ever experience back pain," I answered honestly (first mistake) that, "I get the occasional twinge."

I‘m coming up on 4 years now. All due to that one line. I‘ve been tested and found fit so many times now, I‘ve lost count. IMHO the meds at Borden who decide this have no clear concept of what reality is like. But I‘m biased and a bit bitter eh:) I‘ve finally had to go to a local MLA, he‘s reviewed this and feels the same as I do, that I‘m overly qualified and more than capable, so hopefully there will be a new outcome for me by Christmas. How‘s that for a waste of my time eh?

For the record, when I finally get this resolved, I doubt I‘ll return as a Pvt. to the Infantry. I‘m a commercial pilot and a commercial diver attaining a degree at college right now, so I‘m thinking of something else. First love will always be the infantry though, it was probably the best time of my life, which is odd when you think about all the pain and work eh?

[cronos]

Wow. Almost looks discouraging to me. I had a sports injury years and years ago, and was diagnosed with a laxed knee cap, etc. I had orthoscopic surgery, and can perform excellent with one of those stupid foam wraps around my knee, but it just makes me wonder what hoops I‘m going to have to jump through to get through the medical exam.

[Benoit]

I wounder would a hernia prevent form getting in?

[Beadwindow 7]

Hah, think thats funny,

I‘m an army brat, just applied for the forces..finish my medical, and the WO who headed the sections says, ok, I just have to get you to get these papers filled out by docs...

120$ and a week later, my medical is on its way to get processed.

2 & a 1/2 months later, i get a letter informing me that I don‘t meet the Canadian Military Enrollment Standard, because I have a food Allergy to peanuts..

So now, I need to pay for an allergy test, and get a note from a doc who says I don‘t need an epi-pen...otherwise, no army

Passed everything else, just that stupid allergy.

Bah!

[Enzo]

Well, you never know when some rat ******* somewhere will throw a peanut at you.

And I suppose you aren‘t able to be responsible to yourself in terms of how you eat? Guess your parents had to prepare everything for you until this very day? My God man, what WERE you thinking???

In the words of John Cleese from "The Meaning of Life," I‘m sorry sir, you‘re NOT QUALIFIED.

Seriously, makes you want to just smack the the runt who sits and plays omnipotent master to the all mighty checklist. Whatever happened to common sense? To embracing the human spirit? I suppose you can, once you‘ve gotten past the all knowing doctor‘s and personnel of CFRC.

Suck it up, pass the test and don‘t look back. Be grateful you‘ll be able to sort this out and be on course by next year. Try not to become jaded like me, I‘m one pissed off Infanteer. It‘s something I spend many hours attempting to deal with, and it‘s not suppose to be a hobbie.

Whenever I think to myself, ****  with it, I‘ll have enough credits to apply for Vancouver PD by next summer (and they‘ve already shown a good deal of interest, full disclosure included) I just have to walk through Esquimalt for awhile. Doesn‘t take too long for me to pass a few going into Timmy‘s and looking like heart attacks waiting to happen. I get so flipping frustrated and annoyed with this bloody system, and then I remind myself, it is a system and I have to accept and work within it. It sucks, but that‘s the way it is. Maybe one day changes will happen, until then, (I apologize in advance to anyone I‘ll offend with this next bit, but I observed it and so I‘m going to repeat it) we live in a world where reservist Second-Lieutenant‘s proudly compare their weekend Basic Training course to Reg Force Infantry Battle School. That one picks at me. The fact that one of them was a MARS officer who was working in an office position because she "gets motion sick." after training to be a MARS officer, basically summed up the situation nicely.

I feel better, thanks for allowing me to vent guys. Honestly, I don‘t intend to come across so sour, I just need an outlet sometimes, and my girlfriends tiring of it.

[SFontaine]

Hey do you think an allergy to penicillin and sulfa would affect me?

[BSpencer]

Hey guys,

I went to my doc about the original issue I had, he was shocked like I said, and gave me a not saying I have no form of asthma what so ever...

Which is true, aside from how I feel when I run (no problems).  I had tests done as well that SHOWED I had no asthma...

I don‘t get it??... all the doc at Borden had to do was to look at the test results and translations that I sent him, and voila, I‘m in...

Now I gotta call the recruiting centre and see how I can go about contesting the docs results in Borden...

It‘s been a full year since I first applied now  :p

 

[Brian McMillan]

The Canadian Armed Forces, voted "The  Worst Managed in the Western World" by Janes Defence Weekly.  Is it any wonder that you‘ve waited a year?  I applied  about a month ago, and am now intimately acquainted with the concept of VFS.  I can comfortably predict that at this time next year I will still be waiting for my service record to be plucked from the dank depths of National Archives.

[Enzo]

Where to begin 3885.

IMHO: The paper pushers at CFRC Borden are out of touch and lazy. The Lt. who made the decision against me still hasn‘t returned my calls. I left messages for a few months, tired of that (ok, that was a couple of years ago now    ). I was polite and required information. That I don‘t actually warrant the courtesy of a return phone call... why leave the contact # on the paper that was sent to me? Must be busier than I thought.

As for the hurdles I‘ve had to run through? Enjoy. I‘ve been to 3 specialist‘s. All have passed me as more than fit. I have my Commercial Dive Medical and worked this past summer as a working commercial diver on the aquaculture systems (11hr days, DCIEM dive tables maxed daily, with full kit on 1200 yd systems, etc...) and can honestly say that I worked harder than a PID Diver (no offense intended to those guys, just the almighty $$$ determines commercial work and corners are cut; not always safely)

CFRC didn‘t simply give me a list and say, get this done then come back. It‘s always, one thing at a time; then wait 4 months for a reply. Years pass. Here‘s where the circle completes. Finally, they asked me to go to an Orthopaedic Surgeon for his assessment. An Ortho (who charges $1200-1600) won‘t actually see me; not his field. Take this info into CFRC who respond (3 months later) w/ "go to a physiatrist."

According to my dictionary: physiatrist see: phys·i·cal med·i·cine (n)

"the branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis of injuries or physical conditions and their treatment by external means, including heat, massage, or exercise, rather than by medication or surgery."
Also called physiatrics

I‘ve already been to 3 specialist who meet that criteria. I‘m waiting for an explanation as to why this has taken 4 bloody years?

All I get is the usual nonsense about, "The CF requires it‘s members to meet the minimum physical requirement, etc..." This coming from someone who is a good 20 pounds overweight and hasn‘t left a desk, since basic?? Not to mention the disrespect I get when I it‘s explained to me in very clear terms what the physical requirements are and the life I "can expect" in the CF. Jesus, I was already in the Reg Force Infantry, does that just not count for anything??? I think I have some "experience" as to what I can expect when I am in the military?!? I was injured for 5 weeks before I was taken off course and required surgery. In hindsight, I should have taken a recourse in the first week, healed and then carried on, but I was stubborn, motivated and I didn‘t want to quit. I worked hard to get what I wanted and I wasn‘t about to go sit on my ***  for 6 months.

My CSM @ 52 had the same procedure performed on him, and he was going strong until he was forced into retirement @ 53. (Accumulated 1.5 yrs worth of leave and they didn‘t want to pay him out. Another asset goes to waste)

Yeah, I get it. I chose to release so that I could heal properly; I didn‘t agree with the methods of rehabilitation used on my base (If you could call sitting on a Swedish ball once a week rehabilitation) And now that I have, I‘m going to fight this until I‘m 51, I swear. If you want something badly enough, then fight for it. I‘m qualified, stubborn and a ****ed good soldier. Don‘t let some REMF stop you from achieving that which you want. Ever. If you can laugh along the way, then show me how, I have trouble sometimes  

[Enzo]

From the final report of the Minister‘ Monitoring Committee on Land Force Reserve Restructure (LFRR) and Professional Development, Education, and Leadership:

"There are, nonetheless, some problem areas. Foremost among these is an enrolment process that generally appears to be more risk averse than is natural for a fighting force. In the Committee view, the CF should be more inclined to manage risk rather than attempting to avoid it. A recruiting and enrolment system for the military must be able to operate expeditiously."

"In Progress Report II of June 2003 the Committee identified the enrolment process as constituting the greatest problem affecting Reserve recruitment. As revealed in consultation after consultation, the Militia has no problem in attracting Canadian citizens to serve their nation on a part-time basis with periods of this service devoted to overseas deployment. The problem of sustaining reserve strength is not one of attracting recruits, many of whom are turned away, but mainly one of enrolment. The Committee concluded that, to a large extent, this problem boiled down to a question of attitude and will – if the will were truly there, the problem could be fixed.

The Committee further determined the major choke point in the enrolment process to be centralized medical screening. A communication from the JAG Branch indicated that in order to ensure every Canadian citizen applying to be a member of the Reserves is “treated equitably across the country” [18] each medical file has to be finally reviewed and approved centrally. The Committee ventured that this practice, which could hardly be sustained in either emergency or war, could be overcome through decentralized contracting out to civilian doctors or medical centres. The Committee also noted that the Army Commander’s 19 November 2001 recommendation [19] to streamline the medical evaluation step in the enrolment process had not been accepted. ADM (HR-Mil) refused to sanction conditional enrolment on the grounds that it “brings an unnecessary risk to the Public” for lack of “a reasonable level of screening.” [20] The Committee nonetheless feels that this matter should be pursued further. In both of these issues, medical and conditional enrolment, the head of the Army has no authority to institute change on his own."

Read the entire report @

 http://www.frasercom.ca/mmc%20reports/english/FINALRpt2003_E.htm