Failed Navy medical - DS is gutted

[FupOff]

DS is 18 and just finished his A Levels, he's been revolving his life around joining the Navy and has just has his medical which he has sadly failed due to having migraines as an early teen, he last had any sort of headache in October 2022 and he was failed on the basis that he has to have been free of migraine recurrence for 2 years. The headache was for about 10 minutes and went away with no medication. He hasn't taken, nor been prescribed any migraine meds for years nor seen a GP about it since he was about 13. I have one very gutted DS 😢 I don't know if appealing is an option or how long this could potentially take. I'm heartbroken for him as it's all he's dreamed about doing.

Hi - can he apply again when he's been 2 years free. My DS joined a year after finishing college and tbh the extra maturity helped him cope with basic training etc.
It's not a once only application thing with health conditions that don't count after a certain time so tell him not to give up hoe as he should be able to join in future if he remains migraine free.

Hopefully he will be accepted in 2024. Could you suggest he takes a gap year. Get a working visa and go visit Australia for a year etc.

How do they know about it if it's not on his medical records?

It's only 15 months away from being 2 years headache-free. If he's dead set on joining then I'd take this opportunity to get a job, save as much as he can and try again next October with the savings behind him for if/when he leaves and has to head back to civi street.

I would appeal the medical decision. Everyone gets headaches and they shouldn’t class that as a migraine.

If he's really dedicated and set on it then the best thing is to reapply when he's been 2 years free (I agree though how did they know?). I know it's disappointing but it sounds like it's temp medically rejected rather than a perm rejection which is good news. Is he looking to join as a rating or as an officer?

If he goes to university he can then apply for their graduate scheme, it's pretty generous! He then goes from university to Dartmouth naval college. Mechanical or electrical engineering are good options. Either way he has a degree

It is recurrent headaches that can preclude entry rather than migraines.

I failed my Army medical for similar reasons 15ish years ago. It was gutting at the time, but in my case it was definitely worse as mine got worse rather than better after that, and it can be very dangerous at the wrong time (I had one on exercise with the TA as it was then)

My advice... take time to process this. Work on fitness, get some useful qualifications and see how he feels in a few months. I have known people successfully appeal medical decisions and have great careers. Or find alternative paths.

Why did he tell them? My son got rejected from the military for a vision issue. He never had a vision issue. We got second opinions and finally nearly two years later he has passed out. My advice would be to keep trying. The recruitment for the military is terrible, unorganised etc. I can’t tell you how many times they lost my sons paperwork, systems crashed etc.

They were already aware at earlier stages that he had a headache October 2022 as he disclosed he has previously had migraines. So why they then wait until the medical to ask again, to then fail you, I have no idea. They asked in the medical today when the last headache episode was and DS gave October 2022 as the answer. He said it only lasted ten minutes and required no medication and did not affect his activities that day at all but he was failed all the same.

A headache that lasts 10 minutes is not a migraine.. that's ridiculous.

It’s also not recurrent. I’d definitely appeal that. Point out that the vast majority of people will get a headache at some point in a year.

Hi my son is eager to join the navy and is awaiting four day training session and medical, only i am so concerned for him as he has slight scoliosis at the bottom of his spine but he has no pain at all with it but the left side of his back rises slightly when exercising and is seeable, it will break his heart if he doesn’t get in as he has trained so hard for it, does anyone know if this issue will affect his entry?.