specific medical issue

[annablue]

If you take medication for Bi-polar disorder will they allow you to become an officer?

[PhilipCal]

Short answer probably not. While many ailments can be controlled with medication,Bi-Polar is too much of a liability risk,and would probably DQ you from the start.

[ofc129]

Short answer, and no offense meant...God I hope not.

[BadgerFan]

No chance, sorry

[Bodie]

If you are bi polar NO.

[Broc-Hur]

When I was a teenager, I was once told (not diagnosed) by a counselor (not doctor) that I was bi-polar after my parent's divorce. I had no idea what bi-polar was and so lived about 3-4 years proclaiming I was bi-polar and taking lithium prescribed by a family doctor. Then I began to discover that bi-polar is more than just feeling bad one day and feeling good the next. I do not swing from the chandeliers or stay up late writing music. Nor do I feel paralyzed in the morning and feel I can't do anything with my life. In fact, I worked full-time at a customer service job for a year and three months and never missed a day of work.

I have been married for 5 great years to a beautiful wife and am taking electronics engineering while working part-time with developmentally disabled teenagers. I've never done drugs, volunteer at my church, have good credit, and get a 3.8+ in school.

Obviously I live my life pretty well because I passed the background check with flying colors with a local sheriff's dept. I aced the oral board. So when it came to the pyschological and the fact that I USE TO take lithium and quit when I was about 22 (I'm now 28), the part about my life that I lived well went right out the window.

So here is what I'm saying. PLEASE! Don't just let your parents or a "doctor" label you as bi-polar without proper testing. If you believe you are not bi-polar, get a second opinion from a professional. Then get copy of the report for your records. You do have to live with the label whether you have bipolar or not.

I sincerely wish the best of luck to you.