I didn't want to go through a MEB. I've been in for well over 15 years and had no plans of stopping. I looked at every chance I could to try and avoid it, but in the end I couldn't avoid it.
After all this time in service, I've had plenty of injuries. I sought medical attention when they were at their worst, so there are plenty of paper trails for lots of issues, but for the most part I tried to be hard and avoid chronic treatment that might trigger a MEB. It helped that my most recent jobs were office-type jobs without organized PT, so it became pretty easy to hide. I'd treat the crippling pain through Advil and alcohol, and would make excuses about why I couldn't be at work.
Once I realized that the MEB was unavoidable, and the odds of being found fit were slim, I went open-kimono about all my issues. My PCM has been great throughout the process, and has helped to treat me for all these injuries. After the VA exams, I realized that there were a lot of conditions that also didn't meet medical retention standards (e.g. certain joint ranges of motion), so I asked my PCM to add the appropriate profiles for those that would apply, in the hopes that if I have to get kicked out of the military against my will, hopefully I can retain any benefits that I might have earned.
He forwarded me an email he received from the MEB doctors, who said that they deleted all the new profiles and that I was a fraud who was just trying to scam the government.
These are very real injuries, with medical histories, lab and radiology reports that support it, and VA exam confirmations. I've been in the military for over half my life, have been in plenty of combat, and have sacrificed my health to support the mission. I only sought help when absolutely necessary. I didn't want a MEB, but it was forced upon me - and when I tried to include all my potentially unfitting injuries, I was called a liar by some doctor in a swivel chair who's never met me. This is how we treat our service members???
After all this time in service, I've had plenty of injuries. I sought medical attention when they were at their worst, so there are plenty of paper trails for lots of issues, but for the most part I tried to be hard and avoid chronic treatment that might trigger a MEB. It helped that my most recent jobs were office-type jobs without organized PT, so it became pretty easy to hide. I'd treat the crippling pain through Advil and alcohol, and would make excuses about why I couldn't be at work.
Once I realized that the MEB was unavoidable, and the odds of being found fit were slim, I went open-kimono about all my issues. My PCM has been great throughout the process, and has helped to treat me for all these injuries. After the VA exams, I realized that there were a lot of conditions that also didn't meet medical retention standards (e.g. certain joint ranges of motion), so I asked my PCM to add the appropriate profiles for those that would apply, in the hopes that if I have to get kicked out of the military against my will, hopefully I can retain any benefits that I might have earned.
He forwarded me an email he received from the MEB doctors, who said that they deleted all the new profiles and that I was a fraud who was just trying to scam the government.
These are very real injuries, with medical histories, lab and radiology reports that support it, and VA exam confirmations. I've been in the military for over half my life, have been in plenty of combat, and have sacrificed my health to support the mission. I only sought help when absolutely necessary. I didn't want a MEB, but it was forced upon me - and when I tried to include all my potentially unfitting injuries, I was called a liar by some doctor in a swivel chair who's never met me. This is how we treat our service members???
