Any Info for FPEB?

T

TOMYTGL

Member
Registered Member
Hello, my name is George and I am an Air Force Technical Sergeant (E-6) nearing 13 years of service. Back in November I had a blood clot in my left lung and they found I had a condition called Heterozygous, which makes me 5-8 times more likely to have blood clots than normal. With me having this condition I have to be on blood thinners for the rest of my life which makes me undeployable. Also on my Form 356 (Finding and Recommended Disposition of USAF Physical Evaluation Board) I think that they used the wrong VA Diagnostic codes. They used 7199-7121 (Post Phlebitic Syn) which from what I have read is a condition that occurs when you have a blood clot and my condition was there before the blood clot happened. I believe the codes they should have used are 7199-6603 which is Hypercoagulable states which require chronic anticoagulation. I am currently appealing the IPEB's decision to discharge me and trying for return to duty. I do not have commander's support on this and he wants to have me discharged. I am currently going around trying to get as many character reference letter as I can to help me overcome his lack of support. Should I only focus on higher ranking individuals like flight chiefs, expiditors, NCOIC, and OIC or should I try to get everyone I know to write me letters? Is there anything anyone can suggest that would help me out in preparing for the formal board? What are my chances of getting the board to return me to duty which an assignment limitation code and getting them to change the medical diagnostic code? Any information would be appreciated!

Thanks,
George
 
It depend on how your NARSUM was/is wrote. Also the commanders letter is weighted heavily also (I believe). If you want charactor witness, I would go for people of the highest rank, that work with you directly. I also would cover both angles, and make an appointment with a Dr. and ask them which one describes your condition the best. Let them know, you are going through a med board and want someone the explaine which fits your condition the best & have them do a MFR.

X
 
TOMYTGL,

Sorry to hear about your condition. You are not alone in this. I was diagnosed with a hypercoaguable state as well (anti-Phospholipid Syndrome (aPLS)). The reason for my anticoagulation is due to chronic pulmonary emboli caused by aPLS. I am interested in what the IPEB % was for you. If it was anything less than 60%, then they were wrong. Under the old system they used the hypercoaguable state to reduce the % to less than 30. There is no reference to this state in the VASRD so they use the unlisted code. The reality is that if you are a clotter and have had a PE then you should be rated as VASRD code 6817 Pulmonary Vascular Disease: Chronic pulmonary thromboembolism requiring anticoagulation therapy = 60%.

As for remaining in the military. Unless you are in a job that allows you the freedom to walk and sit as you please, no significant travel, and ready access to an MTF for regular INR evaluations, I would recommend you consider a future as a retiree.

Over the last ten months I have considered all the risks associated with this condition and my usefulness to the AF. As a Security Forces member, I am worthless with this condition. I can't travel, be in a situation that could result in trauma, and I require frequent checks of my INR. It is time to move on to something a little less taxing. I'm looking at a career in teaching.

Good luck.

AF Cop
 
What rating did they give you?

Sometimes when you can demonstrate they have to give you a retirement level rating they are more likely to find you fit or give you COAD status.

Mike
 
The IPEB gave me a rating of 10% with the code that they used. The code that I think they should use says that my condition is 30% but only if I have had a blood clot within a year. If it has been longer than a year the the rating drops down to 0%. According to the profile that my Dr. wrote it only states that I can not deploy. I am currently able to do everything the Air Force has trained me to do. I have only had one blood clot in my entire life so far. But again I am only 31 and probably should not have had any at this point. Here is the point I want the FPEB to hear. I believe the blood clot was just a freak accurance and I don't believe it's going to happen again, at least not for a long time. From what I have read inactivity puts you at a higher risk for blood clots then with my heterozygous on top of that makes it even higher. Well, with that in mind. I was deployed to Qatar back in 2003 for 4 months. I was a TCN escort and all I did for 12-15 hours a day, 6 days a week, 125 days was sit in a chair or sit in a truck watching people work. That would have been the perfect time for me to have one if my disorder was going to be the cause of any blood clot. Also while I was in the hospitol my wife searched WebMd.com for causes of blood clot and found that foreign substances like iodine could cause a blood clot. Well, I also have Grave's disease (hyperthyroid) and two weeks before I had the blood clot they gave me Radioactive Iodine pills to kill off a portion of my thyroid and said that I should come within 6 feet of people for 3 days. I recieve no advice from the radiologist about blood clots or anything of that kind. And I know i'm gonna sound like a geek when I say this but all I did for those 3 days was sit in one of my spare bedrooms and played World of Warcraft for 3 days since I couldn't be around my wife. So I believe that the iodine pills and the inactivity afterwards combined caused the blood clot. I don't really believe that the heterozygous had much if any to do with it.

George
 
TOMYTGL,

I am still waiting on my board to come back. With the changes in the law in January, the board has slowed things down. The code they rated you with is from the AFI. The law requires the board to follow the VASRD when rating. If you are interested in staying in then go to the formal and request it. Of course you need to ask yourself if heterozygous for Factor V Leiden presents with a great enough risk to want to avoid things or not. The blood thinners are another story altogether.

You may have had other clots and not known it. Not all clots break free and travel. If you have ever had a swollen leg or hot spot with known cause then you probably had a clot. If you have had bronchitis, pneumonia, or a cough that just wouldn't go away, then you probably had a PE.

The reality that I have come to grips with for myself is that my life is more important than my career. While living with a clotting disorder can limit the activities that I do, it doesn't limit the life that I lead.

Factor V is a killer. Trauma while on blood thinners can be a killer. Blood thinners do not guarantee that you will not develop another clot. 70% of all PEs are discovered on the autopsy table. Please read as much as you can before you make a decision.

Also, if no one has told you, because your condition is genetic, if you have children have them screened for the defect. This may help to save their lives one day.


AF Cop
 
Howdy All,
I was just diagnosed heterozygous for factor V Leiden and the hematologist told me I would have to be on blood thinners the rest of my life. (I went to the ER with chest pains and was told I had a pulmonary embolism that's when I was tested for factor V). I was reading in the AFI and it stated any prolonged treatment with anti-coagulants requires a MEB. I've been in the AF for 11.5 years and I had planned on making it a career. Is there a place I can go to look up these disability codes? Or where I can find out some more information? Thanks!- Eddie
 
[FONT=&quot]6817[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Pulmonary Vascular Disease: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Primary pulmonary hypertension, or; chronic pulmonary thrombo-[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] embolism with evidence of pulmonary hypertension, right [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] ventricular hypertrophy, or cor pulmonale, or; pulmonary [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] hypertension secondary to other obstructive disease of pulmonary [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] arteries or veins with evidence of right ventricular hypertrophy or [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] cor pulmonale.................................................................................................... 100 [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Chronic pulmonary thromboembolism requiring anticoagulant therapy, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] or; following inferior vena cava surgery without evidence of [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] pulmonary hypertension or right ventricular dysfunction................................... 60 [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Symptomatic, following resolution of acute pulmonary embolism.......................... 30 [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Asymptomatic, following resolution of pulmonary thromboembolism...................... 0
[/FONT]


VBA 38 CFR Book C (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)
 
VA Jumper,
Thanks for your help! I guess I don't really know where to go from here. Will my PCM bring it up or should I speak to her about it?
 
I am just wondering what happened to anyone here who was diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome. I am supposed to be on the immunomodulator pre (something- i forgot the name). I only have 2.5 years in, so I guess it wouldn't be a huge loss for me if I got the boot.
 
I am set for FPEB the first week of December. I am really scared, for the fact that I have been fighting the military since Basic training when my injure occured in 2007 and they are now trying to discharged me after their many mistakes with this injury. I am stuck with the decision on either useing JAG or trying to come up with the money to pay for a civilian attorney. I am not good with legal jargin and confused on what to do. I have a chronic knee injure i got in basic and it has been aggravated by the militarys constant lack of medical care. I really love my career in the military. But i am chooseing to fight for a high rating, due to the fact that i can not handle the constant mistakes of miliary personnel messing up my future benefits. Also while trying to figure out how to fight the board. I have to try to figure out how the get my retirment points back. I was not breifed on the fact that I could not recieve military points while on incapacitation pay, plus to make it worse the member incharge of my medical needs in the military told me to report to update my profile every drill and the go home due to my injury and is now telling me , she can make that decision if i am fit for duty. I am now trying to figure out how to get my points back. Due to the lack of help with the members of my base. I have upset alot of people trying to figure all of this out. But the only way I could get anything done was to do it myself and follow my chain of command and by doing that the members that are suppose to help me through this is less helpfull now. I have alot of personal matters taking place in my life that is holding me down only adding more stress in my life. In the years i have been fighting this. I have been also fight the stress from a family memeber passing from a long battle with cancer, my nephew who is only four year old being diagnosed with cancer and is still fighting. My sister and her whole family being hit by a drunk driver, presently i am trying to take care of my family, because i am the only one that can help in this matter. Now i have to battle my fianaces for the fact that the military takes their time on paying their members their benifits. I have been waiting four months for a pay check and have been livng off my savings, which i need to find an attorney. This is the first time i have used one of these websites and desparate for any advice i can get in this matter. I am only 23 and am extermely scared to how my future will end up. Please, Pleae can anyone help me? I would really appreciate anything I can get. Thank you all so much!!
 
The decision for either JAG or civilian attorney is ultimatley yours. The mis-conception is that JAG is Army and therfore will do whats best for the Army and not the client, and thats not the case. As for your retirement points, the only way you can earn them is through corespondence course's. (AR 135-381) Have you started the MEB process yet? And is the person at your unit that you go to fro medical a Doc?
 
Kay1986 said:
I am set for FPEB the first week of December. I am really scared, for the fact that I have been fighting the military since Basic training when my injure occured in 2007 and they are now trying to discharged me after their many mistakes with this injury. I am stuck with the decision on either useing JAG or trying to come up with the money to pay for a civilian attorney. I am not good with legal jargin and confused on what to do. I have a chronic knee injure i got in basic and it has been aggravated by the militarys constant lack of medical care. I really love my career in the military. But i am chooseing to fight for a high rating, due to the fact that i can not handle the constant mistakes of miliary personnel messing up my future benefits. Also while trying to figure out how to fight the board. I have to try to figure out how the get my retirment points back. I was not breifed on the fact that I could not recieve military points while on incapacitation pay, plus to make it worse the member incharge of my medical needs in the military told me to report to update my profile every drill and the go home due to my injury and is now telling me , she can make that decision if i am fit for duty. I am now trying to figure out how to get my points back. Due to the lack of help with the members of my base. I have upset alot of people trying to figure all of this out. But the only way I could get anything done was to do it myself and follow my chain of command and by doing that the members that are suppose to help me through this is less helpfull now. I have alot of personal matters taking place in my life that is holding me down only adding more stress in my life. In the years i have been fighting this. I have been also fight the stress from a family memeber passing from a long battle with cancer, my nephew who is only four year old being diagnosed with cancer and is still fighting. My sister and her whole family being hit by a drunk driver, presently i am trying to take care of my family, because i am the only one that can help in this matter. Now i have to battle my fianaces for the fact that the military takes their time on paying their members their benifits. I have been waiting four months for a pay check and have been livng off my savings, which i need to find an attorney. This is the first time i have used one of these websites and desparate for any advice i can get in this matter. I am only 23 and am extermely scared to how my future will end up. Please, Pleae can anyone help me? I would really appreciate anything I can get. Thank you all so much!!
Click to expand...

Sounds like you have two distinct issues here, a wrongful discharge claim and your PEB case. Wrongful discharge claims are possible to pursue at the Board for Correction of Military Records, though, I tend to favor filing a civil lawsuit for these types of claims.

In interest of full disclosure, I am an attorney who practices in this area. As mentioned above, by SSG Wilson, the decision with whether to go with a JAG or a civilian attorney at the PEB is a personal one. And, as a former Army JAG assigned as a Soldiers Counsel at the PEB, I can attest that there is no pressure to do anything but represent your client to the best of your ability. My main comment on the "limitations" of JAGs are that they tend to focus on your case only at the PEB, meaning it is hard for them to help earlier in your case and near impossible for them to help in later appeals, if you get an adverse decision at the PEB. As a consequence, they may not be familiar with the issues with administrative appeals or with filing a civil lawsuit.

This is not to steer anyone away from using a JAG if there case would not turn out any different. I think it is worth considering the complexity of the case, the legal issues involved and what the stakes are. In my practice, I often advise potential clients that they would do just as fine with a JAG, and given that they are appointed at no cost to the member, that this may be a better choice. However, if there are complicated issues, sometimes it makes sense to go with a civilian counsel.

Whatever happens, I hope you get the outcome you are looking for from the PEB. Best of luck!
 
I thank you for your opinion in this matter. But i do not understand what you were saying in this first couple of lines. "Sounds like you have two distinct issues here, a wrongful discharge claim and your PEB case. Wrongful discharge claims are possible to pursue at the Board for Correction of Military Records, though, I tend to favor filing a civil lawsuit for these types of claims." I am asking what is a wrongful discharge claim and how do i file a civil lawsuit for my points? Do i use a civilian attorney for this matter? Thank you so much for your help!
 
SSG Wilson said:
The decision for either JAG or civilian attorney is ultimatley yours. The mis-conception is that JAG is Army and therfore will do whats best for the Army and not the client, and thats not the case. As for your retirement points, the only way you can earn them is through corespondence course's. (AR 135-381) Have you started the MEB process yet? And is the person at your unit that you go to fro medical a Doc?
Click to expand...

SSG Wilson, I appreciate your help in this matter. At the present I am looking for a suitable attorney to handle my case. I am not an army member, so i dont think that AR 135-381 applies to me. I am in the process of getting paperwork together to appeal to the board of military records. I am schehuled to go the lackland for my FPEB on 05Dec2010. No the members from my medical squadron is not a doctor. They are trying to tell me that it is up to my unit now if i am fit for duty. This makes me very uncomfortable, due to the fact that my squdron is full of crew cheifs not doctors. I have been jumping through the militarys hoops for three years now and am still being turned upside down for nothing. I truely apprciate your help so far. Thank you very much!
 
Kay1986 said:
I thank you for your opinion in this matter. But i do not understand what you were saying in this first couple of lines. "Sounds like you have two distinct issues here, a wrongful discharge claim and your PEB case. Wrongful discharge claims are possible to pursue at the Board for Correction of Military Records, though, I tend to favor filing a civil lawsuit for these types of claims." I am asking what is a wrongful discharge claim and how do i file a civil lawsuit for my points? Do i use a civilian attorney for this matter? Thank you so much for your help!
Click to expand...

I took it from your reference to incapacitation pay that you are a reservist/guardsman and that your injuries were incurred in the line of duty. Essentially, a wrongful discharge claim of this type is based on your entitlement to pay and allowances while injured...your ultimate recovery, if successful, would be offset by your receipt of incap pay, any VA compensation, and any civilian income, so depending on your situation, it may be a lot of money...or none. However, an additional consideration is that if you are given retroactive orders, you get the time and points accrued. For some folks, this can make a big difference in the outcome. For others, it doesn't matter much.

Yes, you would need a civilian attorney (rather, JAGs cannot represent you in these matters...it is possible to file pro se (on your own behalf), though that is usually a challenge for people).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top