Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/Hypo/Hyperthyroidism waiver

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Expert: Rod Powers - 10/8/2009


Question
I had hyperthyroidism about 5 years ago and as soon as i was put on meds i was in remission. I have been off of meds for about 4 years. I recently got a check up and discovered i now have very slight hypothyroidism. I am taking the smallest dose possible for hypothyroidism and my doctor said i am perfectly fit for military service. He also said that my hyperthyroidism is pretty much gone and that i only have about a 5% chance of it ever reoccurring, and the longer I go without hyperthyroidism the more likely it is it will never come back. I was wondering how hard it would be for me to get a waiver to join the Marine Corps, or do you think a MEPS doc would DQ me?

Answer
Hi Garrett,

It's going to require a waiver. The Military doesn't really put much stock in what civilian doctors say about whether or not you are fit for military service. Civilian doctors don't know what is required.

For example, while your civilian doctor may think you're perfectly "fit," a military doctor would probably want to ask, "What would happen if the individual was deployed to a remote combat zone, and his/her supply of medication was destroyed during an attack?"

For information about the military medical waiver process, see my article at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/medicalwaiver.htm

For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my US Military information site at: http://usmilitary.about.com

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com

Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard

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Rod Powers

Expertise

Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.

Experience

Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.

Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).

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