A
aesop081
Guest
madeofcourage said:@Tow Tripod
Thanks for the helpful advise. :
It was good advise. You should follow it.
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 210
CDN Aviator said:
Ding ding ding!
madeofcourage said:@MJP
Hi, I can clarify what's not understood (grammar?).
I hope there is no misunderstanding here, of course antipsychotics is a great alarm whoever joins the army. What's im trying to say is, is it a case by case basis?
In short, I'd like to join the reserves, but not the forces full-time. However, the medical staff doesn't accept people with meds regardless of the situation even though it's minor/mild. However, I read some applicants pass even though they are taking meds? Correct me if I am wrong here.
@Tow Tripod
Thanks for the helpful advise. :
And for those that try to go "Well, it's not an anti-psychotic because I'm not psychotic, just depressed".... Newsflash, Anxiety disorders, depression, bi-polar disorder, OCD... (I could run up the whole medical dictionary) are all classified under Psychotic disorders and are therefore treated with anti-psychotics.
You become a liability if you enlist with those conditions. Nobody is there watching over your shoulder or holding your hand to make sure you stay on the meds, and the last thing the CF wants with your disorder(s) is to wean of your meds and with a weapon in your hands... and next thing you know you're either shooting others or yourself. Sorry, but that's the truth.
Reserves, Reg Force, and even the Cadet Instructors Cadre/COATS... you can't be on anti-psychotics. If you lie, not only will the CF find out, but you'll also be barred from ever serving again.
medicineman
Army.ca Legend
- Reaction score
- 4,372
- Points
- 1,110
lethalLemon said:
Ummm, most of those disorders you mentioned are actually classified as Mood Disorders and Anxiety Disorders...schizophrenia, brief psychotic disorder, things that cause psychoses, are psychotic disorders. Many mood disorders are treated with antipsychotics in low doses because they help the person sleep. People that are bi-polar sometimes get a wammy of them in their manic phases because they can become psychotic.
To madeofcourage - if you have bi-polar disease, OCD, issues with major depression when you're enrolled, you're likely to continue to have them - major depression for instance has a greater than 50% relapse rate. If you have true OCD, bi-polar disease, GAD, etc, the onus is on YOU to be able to prove to the CF that you're medically fit for enrollment. The onus is on the CF to treat you if you become ill while working for us. There is a big difference.
If you really want to get in, discuss this with your family doctor and your psychiatrist to try and get sorted out - in particular, you should ask if you even have a realistic chance of being able to function under stress with little or no sleep without mood stabilizers, since that's a stressor that will exacerbate many folks. Oh, BTW, most people have some personality traits that are linked to a DSM-IV TR diagnosis of some sort - doesn't mean they have outright personality disorders. If you were to look around here, you'd find most of us have mixed traits - that doesn't make us personality D/O's, just makes us personalities.
Good health to you.
MM
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 10
medicineman said:
Very informative, thanks!
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 210
While I don't bring the knowledge or experience that better men and women than I bring to these forums, perhaps my tale could be a little bit of help. This is entirely anecdotal and in no way offers medical advice.
I have had my bout with depression and anxiety disorder and required medication to help treat myself. When I was placed on medication I was cautioned that a strict routine must be followed when administering the pills. When I missed a day I found that the withdrawl symptoms hit me fairly hard. Fast forward a couple years and I was able to take some steps to improve my outlook in life and be tapered off the medication entirely with the goal of joining the CF in mind. Even though I still believe that I could not have known enough to prevent what happened, the biggest change for me was just a diet and exercise improvement that lost me some weight, and improved my mood. As well I had to train myself to increase my mental toughness. If something went wrong for me a couple years ago I would shut down and become entirely nonfunctional, but by self training I was able to change that natural response to face whatever the problem was and tackle it head on. (and yes I was off medication for over a year, if you can't do that, perhaps another job is in order)
During BMQ there is a lot of tough love thrown at you. The instructors don't hate you, and they certainly don't want you to fail, but they will intentionally put a lot of stress on you because they want to bring you up to the mental toughness standard that the CF requires. During my BMQ I was prescribed some antibiotics for an infection. I found it extremely difficult to take the medication on schedule because of the stress and the unstable nature of BMQ timings. Imagine you need to take some paxil right before bed, and at 10:30 you are told you have 30 seconds to be in PT gear. You then go for a 45 minute run and are absolutely bagged by the time you get back to your bed so you just collapse. That is just one dose missed, but the process repeats itself... and again... Now imagine that after a couple of days your minor illness has grown into a huge problem and you can no longer motivate yourself to get inspection ready. You aren't jacked up for this because the staff are too busy jacking up your buddies for not helping you enough. This is just BMQ.
What I have learned in my very short time with the CF is that BMQ is just the tip of the iceberg, and unfortunately the CF is not into hiring people who can survive BMQ, the CF is into hiring people who can be proficient at killing other people. The real soldiers have been there, and done that. Seen and done horrific things that I can't even begin to imagine. It requires a mental fortitude that is beyond a lot of people. If someone who is currently serving the country suffers emotional damage due to that work, then we owe it to them to help them in any way we can.
I have had my bout with depression and anxiety disorder and required medication to help treat myself. When I was placed on medication I was cautioned that a strict routine must be followed when administering the pills. When I missed a day I found that the withdrawl symptoms hit me fairly hard. Fast forward a couple years and I was able to take some steps to improve my outlook in life and be tapered off the medication entirely with the goal of joining the CF in mind. Even though I still believe that I could not have known enough to prevent what happened, the biggest change for me was just a diet and exercise improvement that lost me some weight, and improved my mood. As well I had to train myself to increase my mental toughness. If something went wrong for me a couple years ago I would shut down and become entirely nonfunctional, but by self training I was able to change that natural response to face whatever the problem was and tackle it head on. (and yes I was off medication for over a year, if you can't do that, perhaps another job is in order)
During BMQ there is a lot of tough love thrown at you. The instructors don't hate you, and they certainly don't want you to fail, but they will intentionally put a lot of stress on you because they want to bring you up to the mental toughness standard that the CF requires. During my BMQ I was prescribed some antibiotics for an infection. I found it extremely difficult to take the medication on schedule because of the stress and the unstable nature of BMQ timings. Imagine you need to take some paxil right before bed, and at 10:30 you are told you have 30 seconds to be in PT gear. You then go for a 45 minute run and are absolutely bagged by the time you get back to your bed so you just collapse. That is just one dose missed, but the process repeats itself... and again... Now imagine that after a couple of days your minor illness has grown into a huge problem and you can no longer motivate yourself to get inspection ready. You aren't jacked up for this because the staff are too busy jacking up your buddies for not helping you enough. This is just BMQ.
What I have learned in my very short time with the CF is that BMQ is just the tip of the iceberg, and unfortunately the CF is not into hiring people who can survive BMQ, the CF is into hiring people who can be proficient at killing other people. The real soldiers have been there, and done that. Seen and done horrific things that I can't even begin to imagine. It requires a mental fortitude that is beyond a lot of people. If someone who is currently serving the country suffers emotional damage due to that work, then we owe it to them to help them in any way we can.
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 210
medicineman said:
Oh
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 110
Been reading through this thread for a while now and I hoped I could get some help/advice for my situation.I'm currently taking Effexor for some anxiety problems,but with my doctor's permission I've started to ween off the dose and will eventually stop taking it all together.I was wondering a few things 1)Are the medical standards the same for the reserve co-op program?(guessing yes) I won't have been off my meds for the 1 year-period they usually make you wait by the deadline for applications and I was wondering if there was even any point in applying to the co-op(obviously I really want to do it but considering the circumstances I might just be denied eligibility) and 2) If it turns out I can't do the Co-op should I wait the full year after I'm off the prescription to apply to the regular force or should I apply earlier and appeal and decisions they might make ? I sent the CFRC these same questions in an email about 10 days ago but considering the time of year I can understand why they have't answered it yet.Thanks in advance for any insight or advice. 
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 110
Speaking from experience, appealing the medication issue is not an option. They have a list of medications that if you are/were taking, automatically make you ineligible. You need to wait the year. The only option for an appeal is to challenge them on what medications are on the list. My advice, wean off the medication the appropriate way, wait the year, then proceed. It's a tough thing to do, but believe me, the year will fly by if you take that time and better yourself as an applicant. In the end, it will all be worth it.
Hello everyone,
I am considering joining the Canadian Forces as a Reservist in the near future, however one thing I am worried about is that I have had problems with depression/anxiety in the past. The bulk of my problems with this happened between the ages of 17-18. I am 22 now, however I still take a daily SSRI as I just haven't weened myself off of them.
I have not experienced any depression for about 2 years and my anxiety levels are very, very minimal. I am planning to ween myself off of the medication (with doctor's help of course) before I submit any application for the Canadian Forces. My question is, will this past preclude me from enrollment in the Canadian Forces, even if I am not taking any medication and am symptom free?
Thanks in advance,
Ben
I am considering joining the Canadian Forces as a Reservist in the near future, however one thing I am worried about is that I have had problems with depression/anxiety in the past. The bulk of my problems with this happened between the ages of 17-18. I am 22 now, however I still take a daily SSRI as I just haven't weened myself off of them.
I have not experienced any depression for about 2 years and my anxiety levels are very, very minimal. I am planning to ween myself off of the medication (with doctor's help of course) before I submit any application for the Canadian Forces. My question is, will this past preclude me from enrollment in the Canadian Forces, even if I am not taking any medication and am symptom free?
Thanks in advance,
Ben
GAP said:
It is not that I can't ween myself off of the medication. It is that the medication is known to have withdrawal side-effects and my doctor has recommended me to do it with doctors supervision. My current job has involved quite a bit of traveling overseas meaning, I could not be supervised by my doctor while undergoing this process. However, in the coming weeks I will be returning to Canada permanently and will be going off of this medication.
Thanks very much,
Ben
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 210
Jiaming said:Ok, thanks very much for the info. That is basically what I figured the deal would be, but I thought asking here would be worth a shot.
Again, Thanks very much.
Ben
Good response as noted above. Take your time with the SSRI withdrawal process, from experience (paxil) it can be a nasty ride. Get to a recruiting center once you are SSRI and withdrawal symptom free, then commence the process / being mentally and physically fit comes first. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Good luck with the process, Dan.
Hello, it's the first time I'm posting here.
I went to the recruitment center today to talk about some aspects related to anti-depressants but they said they can't make me see someone specialized in answering medical questions. I tried to ask them and push the discussion a little bit, but they (there were like 3 people talking to me) said I would need to talk to my doctor. I would really appreciate if I can get some advice here before seeing my doctor.
The problem I have is that, about 4 months ago, I was seeing a psychologist because of issues related to school and not feeling motivated to study because I didn't know what I wanted to study. I already have a college technical diploma but I wanted to higher... to university.
The psychologist suggested I see a doctor, and the doctor said I was depressed and needed medication. I bought the pills, but I never took them (still have them now). But during a follow-up, I told the doctor that I have been taking them for a week and plan on continuing ( I understand that it is my mistake). I did that to buy me more time to think if I really need to take pills; I was just kind of shocked that was I so bad that I needed pills (and this is the truth, 100%).
Now I'm meeting up with my doctor again, very soon, and I plan on letting him know everything; and how much better I feel having my parents support to take my time to figure out what I really want to study and if it takes longer to finish up my degree. I felt an obligation towards my mother who raised me alone, to finish up my studies quickly and support her after.
But at this point, I don't know how to proceed.
During the medical, they will for sure ask if I have been prescribed anti-depressants, so they will know I have been diagnosed with depression. But I feel a lot better now, and never took the pills.
But, should I bring up the with the doctor that I want to join the army, or should I make follow ups and then talk to him about it? I don't want to him to get suspicious that I am just saying these things about feeling better because I want him to make a good paper the army. Because at one point, I'm going to have to tell this during my medical, and they will ask some documents from the doctor anyway, so I might as well talk to my doctor first.
In the event that the doctor doesn't see me fit, which will probably result in a failed medical, what are my choices, and I done for , for the CF?
I don't might getting diagnosed/evaluated by a psychiatrist (army or civil), at my own expense, to prove that I have no problems? do they do that in the army? Can I get evaluated by a third party and submit that report.
I'm really worried about what will happen if the doctor still feels that I need the pills and I am still suffering from depression (which I'm not even sure that I even suffered in the first place).
Thanks all for reading.
I went to the recruitment center today to talk about some aspects related to anti-depressants but they said they can't make me see someone specialized in answering medical questions. I tried to ask them and push the discussion a little bit, but they (there were like 3 people talking to me) said I would need to talk to my doctor. I would really appreciate if I can get some advice here before seeing my doctor.
The problem I have is that, about 4 months ago, I was seeing a psychologist because of issues related to school and not feeling motivated to study because I didn't know what I wanted to study. I already have a college technical diploma but I wanted to higher... to university.
The psychologist suggested I see a doctor, and the doctor said I was depressed and needed medication. I bought the pills, but I never took them (still have them now). But during a follow-up, I told the doctor that I have been taking them for a week and plan on continuing ( I understand that it is my mistake). I did that to buy me more time to think if I really need to take pills; I was just kind of shocked that was I so bad that I needed pills (and this is the truth, 100%).
Now I'm meeting up with my doctor again, very soon, and I plan on letting him know everything; and how much better I feel having my parents support to take my time to figure out what I really want to study and if it takes longer to finish up my degree. I felt an obligation towards my mother who raised me alone, to finish up my studies quickly and support her after.
But at this point, I don't know how to proceed.
During the medical, they will for sure ask if I have been prescribed anti-depressants, so they will know I have been diagnosed with depression. But I feel a lot better now, and never took the pills.
But, should I bring up the with the doctor that I want to join the army, or should I make follow ups and then talk to him about it? I don't want to him to get suspicious that I am just saying these things about feeling better because I want him to make a good paper the army. Because at one point, I'm going to have to tell this during my medical, and they will ask some documents from the doctor anyway, so I might as well talk to my doctor first.
In the event that the doctor doesn't see me fit, which will probably result in a failed medical, what are my choices, and I done for , for the CF?
I don't might getting diagnosed/evaluated by a psychiatrist (army or civil), at my own expense, to prove that I have no problems? do they do that in the army? Can I get evaluated by a third party and submit that report.
I'm really worried about what will happen if the doctor still feels that I need the pills and I am still suffering from depression (which I'm not even sure that I even suffered in the first place).
Thanks all for reading.
I have a fairly accurate reading of your situation or your mental set. I am like you, full of disappointments. But wait! There are other military or adventurous activities which you can enter in aside from the military. We have civilian RCMPs assigned to reconnoiteur "290A Danforth" (They have valid warrants of surveillance on these organizations, believe me). We have CSIS where there is never a day that they don't lay memorial wreaths to their dead spies. YOu can enjoy the perks of jiujitsu to make you feel confident while you reconnoiteur. Gun licenses are offered in Lakeshore Road. YOu can master sniping while assigned to RCMP watching the mob. There is always an adventurous job waiting for you out there. I assure you, they are very very short on personnel and dying to get you like me.
