MEB process starting within 40 days of separation?

garrett roberts

New Member
Registered Member
So... I have my separation orders in hand. I did a sleep study about a week ago and the results just arrived at the base clinic and they told me that because my Sleep Apnea is so severe they have to med-board me. What can I expect over the next few days? My provisional diagnosis is Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea. I am kinda bummed because I had plans in place for when I separated but if this MEB sticks I will have to wait longer? If I am within 40 days of my projected final out can this all happen that quickly?

Also I hear its really rare to get anything other than "return to duty" for Sleep Apnea. This concerns me because I would rather not delay my separation if nothing is going to come from it. It should also be noted that I have Achilles Tendonitis in both feet, Planters Fasciitis in both feet, High Blood Pressure(145/100 average but can be controlled by meds), and a "runners knee" in both knees which wont go away and can be painful when walking for over an hour or even driving a car on a bumpy road.

The worst conditions I have however would have to do with my eyes (blefaritus, keratoconjunctivitus, occular rosasia). I have been in and out of the doctors for my eyes many many times and my doctor says I will be battling with it the rest of my life. I went on Accutaine for a short time and while I did that I happened to get a bad case of double pink eye. I was still on the Accutaine for a bit after that and this had an adverse effect on my eyes. My prescription for my eyes has been out of date for a while now but the doctors cant give me a new one because my eyes are not stable enough to give me a prescription. there are some days where I just cant see because things get blurry or fuzzy. I also get pains at the back of my eyes sometimes due to swelling of the eyeball.

Will they include all of this data in my MEB? I am currently on a situps only profile because I have some wrist pain which has not been diagnosed. Is it worth getting the MEB? or should I try to avoid it if its even possible at this point?
 
The PEB May be your better bet in the long run. It sucks and ruins plans but definitely helps out. I just got mine done and am waiting on orders. From start to finish April 2nd-August3rd. I have sleep apnea too and they need your 2 overnight sleep studies to rate you. The first for your diagnosis and the second for your CPAP pressure test
 
on paper you need 2 separate studies? I did a split study where for the first few hours I was not on a machine but for the rest of the night I was on a CPAP. I was a different person the next day and I was only on the CPAP for 4-5 hours! I wonder if this is sufficient? My AHI is 59.2. If my MEB comes back that I am fine as long as I am on a CPAP I would then just separate as normal? Or would my other stuff also affect it as well?
 
That’s what the sleep technician at ft. Eustis told me. The first test is for diagnosis and the second is for air pressure testing. 59 is really high, I’m sorry that you had so much trouble. I still think that it’s pretty tough to get medical separation for sleep apnea because it can be helped. If you do get med boarded I’d guess that it would get kicked back down from the PEB pretty quickly
 
@garrett roberts,

Sorry to hear about your administrative hassles, and sorry to hear about your AHI! 59 is, by any objective standard, a pretty ridiculous number. Glad you're on the CPAP now.

The process @adnavy84 is describing is the normal one for a sleep study - one night for diagnosis, and then one night for therapeutics. Sounds like you got them both knocked out at once, which is great. You likely won't need a second one unless they suspect you have narcolepsy as well. If that's the case, they do one night for the polysomnogram (which you just had) and another for the Multi-Sleep Latency Test (MSLT: try to fall asleep as fast as you can, take a quick nap, then they wake you up. Rinse, repeat). If no one thinks you have narcolepsy, they likely won't order that test for you.

@adnavy84 is definitely right that a PEB is probably better for you in the long run. It's hard to overstate the value of a permanent medical retirement. Obviously, none of us has access to your medical files or your commander's opinions of your work product, so we can't tell you whether you have a good case or a bad one for your eyes or your legs, etc. But if there's a good chance you could be found Unfit for those, it's probably worth a few months of hassle to get a lifetime of benefits. You're right that people are almost never found Unfit for sleep apnea alone, though.

That said, if you get referred to a Board and you decide you just want to separate administratively instead of going through the whole Board process, every Service branch has a process to waive out of the DES and just execute your separation orders. It's a pretty simple process, designed with folks like you in mind. Basically, you just write a letter to the President of the PEB, requesting to leave the disability processing pipeline and separate normally instead. The requests are nearly always granted, as long as you don't have any Reserve obligation after you separate.

DOD Instruction 1332.18 says:
6. WAIVER OF PEB EVALUATION. Except as prohibited by section 7 of this appendix [note: this is for people who incur additional Reserve obligations when they separate], Service members may waive referral to the PEB with the approval of the Secretary of the Military Department concerned.
a. The Service member must be counseled on the DES process, the right to a PEB, and the potential benefits of remaining in an active duty or active reserve status to complete evaluation
by the DES.
b. The Service member must request a waiver in writing and such request or an affidavit must attest that the member has received the counseling described and declines referral to the
PEB.

Not sure what your Service branch is, but you can find all of the instructions in the Resources section on this website. Just open your Service branch's instruction, CTRL+F for the word "waiver," and you should find a template for your request, near the end of the instruction. You'll still need (and want) to talk to a DES attorney before you waive out.
 
I am a 2T1X1 in the USAF and I do still have a little under 4 years reserve obligation... However everyone I talk to says to go through with the MEB/PEB which does make sense. I know my work has been excellent because I always push through(even though I should not sometimes) so there is no real evidence on that side that this hurts my ability to work. I only refused to do a job once ever because I had been awake for over 27 hours when I was on nights and a comp day got canceled mid way through a day. I have been moved to a desk job because I expressed my being uncomfortable driving to my leadership but I still have to drive large vehicles from time to time but its usually for short distances. I personally am not sure I would pass the eye section of a CDC.
 
One of the biggest factors that the PEB looks at is the effect that your injury has in the performance of your job. There needs to be something documented that says you can’t do your job in order to get speedster through the PEB. I was on LIMDU for a year before I got put on a PEB. If you wanna stay in, I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to. Getting separated sounds harder from the details you’ve given
 
well I am currently active duty and I was trying to separate. I know that I should probably be on duty restrictions for my eyes but I doubt that anything will come from the sleep apnea.
 
That’s a tough spot but I don’t think you have anything to worry about. If you get med boarded for sleep apnea, it’ll probably get kicked down really quickly and if you don’t, you can just finish out your time. It might help to start getting more stuff documented to help your VA claims
 
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