<p>I had this under another thread but I thought it might warrant it own.
BACKGROUND - 4 years varsity basketball, captain this year, runs up to five miles at a time for personnel workout. Received LOA and nomination. Disqualified by DODMERB for possible reactive airway disease/exercised induced bronchospasm after age 13. As part of waiver process required to get PFT MCT test. PFT no problem. During the five part methacholine challenge test he showed a minior reaction in stage four and they discontinued the test.
QUESTION - Is this result a killer or has anyone been accepted with this kind of result? The waiting and the rollercoster ride is beginning to take its toll on all of us..</p>
<p>I know someone who's blind in one eye who's DODMERB cleared. you just have to fudge around with the paperwork. go to another doctor, in fact go doctor shopping. Seriously, its just a question of how bad you want it. ask questions and go doctor shopping. OMIT. PM me if you need help.</p>
<p>"I know someone who's blind in one eye who's DODMERB cleared"</p>
<p>Huh? No matter how badly someone "wants it" if they are blind in one eye they don't belong in a service academy.</p>
<p>I wouldn't want a blind man aiming at targets even at practice. Getting through DODMERB with his situation is rather an intricate anomaly.</p>
<p>Completly agree.</p>
<p>Dodmerb (as much as we might hate it ) is there for a reason.</p>
<p>not blind, half blind. it some cases its actually dodmerb waiverable for amblyopia.</p>
<p>well obviously noone was watching ripleys believe it or not as a blind woman bowled a 300 :)</p>
<p>"you just have to fudge around with the paperwork. go to another doctor, in fact go doctor shopping."</p>
<p>Not a good idea. Several kids each year try stuff like this...they end up getting an appointment; bragging to all their friends and family; have the big going away party; then they get their a** sent home a couple days into summer training due to a condition that they "fudged" over. At the CGA there were like 8 or 9 kids sent home due to red/green color blindness for example. They ended up at Hometown Community College for all their efforts. Bad advice.</p>
<p>Think about it. Are you willing to play poker in a situation that involves your entire future? Are you willing to bluff it for potential demise or play it safe and fold? If I were them, I would not even play this poker game. Too risky. I don't want a blind man to be my platoon sergeant nor do I want to work with an officer that cannot differentiate between mud and dead grass. Rasdad this is not for you. This is for the blind man talk.</p>
<p>Rasdad: It would help to know how much the FEV (forced exhaled volume) dropped in response to the amount of methacholine used during that stage of the test- I don't know how much detail they will offer you concerning the results obtained, but it is worth a try to see if you can get that information. I found this on online, and thought I would post it here for you- if indeed he is turned down by DoDMERB, it might not hurt to have the test repeated with a good pulmonologist, for the sake of good health going forward (while asthma may not be a current problem, a positive test at any point usually means you are at higher risk for its development within a 3-5 year window of time)- </p>
<p>Having said that, if, in fact, your son is at risk perhaps the USMA is not the place to be- hard if that is the dream- but reality is tough, and the running and physical demands placed while there, and afterwards, may be too much of a demand on pulmonary function and could lead to a whole host of problems....an asthma attack is a serious condition, and can be, in some cases, life threatening. You never know what will trigger it off, when it will happen, and you can only hope that help is readily available when it does. A lot of risk- for yourself and for others. Just something to think about.</p>
<hr>
<p>(internet)
What is a good score for the test?<br>
Exposure of the lungs to methacholine constricts the lungs, thereby the higher the dose of methacholine, the lower the FEV will be. The data is plotted on a graph. By connecting the data points, FEV can be estimated for any concentration of methacholine that falls in between the specific doses given. In reviewing the results, the doctor looks for the concentration of methacholine that lead to a drop in the FEV of at least twenty percent below its usual ("baseline") amount.</p>
<p>If it took greater than 16 mg/ml of methacholine in order to induce a 20% drop in the FEV, that would be interpreted as proof that the individual does not have asthma.
On the other hand, demonstrating a 20% decrease in FEV for any concentration of methacholine below 1 mg/ml is regarded as being a positive test for asthma.
Results that fall between 1 mg/ml and 16 mg/ml are considered to be less conclusive.
(Some doctors consider 8 mg/ml to be the cut-off that divides people who have asthma from those who do not.)
Factors that the doctor takes into account when interpreting the test results are:
Asthma symptoms experienced by the patient during the test, as well as beforehand
Extent to which the bronchodilator taken after the test alleviates the patient's symptoms
The amount of baseline airway obstruction (whether the patient had a low initial FEV)
Reproducibility of the test (the ability to repeat the procedure at a different time with similar results) </p>
<p>How accurate is methacholine challenge?<br>
If asthma is present, the test will almost always reveal excessive bronchoconstriction; that is, non-response to methacholine would be an almost sure sign that the patient does not have asthma, regardless of any asthma-like symptoms that s/he may be experiencing. Thus, methacholine challenge is quite useful for ruling out asthma.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the test is less reliable for confirming a diagnosis of asthma.
Another limitation of the test is that it is difficult to interpret with certainty when the patient had a low FEV to begin with (since in order to note response, the FEV must drop substantially)
[Note: The nebulizer equipment must be properly calibrated and maintained, in order to ensure that the dose it dispenses is accurate.] </p>
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<p>I hope this is of some help to you. Best of luck!</p>