Med board question

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Joshing323

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Had an emergency back surgery on L5/S1 disk in Feb due to losing filling in my right leg (butt cheek to foot). After the surgery the pain in my back got worse and the right leg is still the same. It’s either numb or in pain. Lost the ability to push off my right leg. Have a really hard time urinating and popping as well. Got another mri recently and they found out my L5/L4 has herniated and now want to do another surgery to fuse it all together. What I don’t understand is none of my doctors have mentioned a med board yet. I work acft Mx and there’s no way I can do that in the shape/pain I’m in. Not to mention my right leg doesn’t work anymore. Anyone else have a similar experience with any of this. Am I supposed to ask about the med board or just wait it all. I’ve been on con leave since Feb 13 and no word at all on when I could go back to work. I do have a nerve test coming up on June 11. The last mri impressions were as followed in the picture attached. I guess my question is what am I supposed to do if I know physically I can’t continue to do my job but none of my doctors seem to care?
 

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Gonna assume you're Marines/Navy given how familiar that document looks. Could be totally wrong. Long story short is this: your doctors care, otherwise they wouldn't go through the headache of getting you through surgeries.

Medboards are typically reserved for a last resort, that is the intention after all. Medboards can be reasonably kicked back to further develop treatment pathways, so if a reasonable doctor can ask "why haven't they tried this?" chances are it will get kicked back.

You could opt to reject further surgical intervention, and ask about a board. How receptive your doctor is to that is entirely up to them.
 
thanks4urhelp said:
Gonna assume you're Marines/Navy given how familiar that document looks. Could be totally wrong. Long story short is this: your doctors care, otherwise they wouldn't go through the headache of getting you through surgeries.

Medboards are typically reserved for a last resort, that is the intention after all. Medboards can be reasonably kicked back to further develop treatment pathways, so if a reasonable doctor can ask "why haven't they tried this?" chances are it will get kicked back.

You could opt to reject further surgical intervention, and ask about a board. How receptive your doctor is to that is entirely up to them.
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Air Force, yea I’m assuming the nerve test will be when they finally talk about the med board. I can’t feel my right leg at all and so far that’s just been me saying that, the nerve test will finally show that I’m not lying and how bad it is. I just figured we’d already have the med board talk but maybe I’m rushing it. Don’t really want to have a fusion at 34 so I’ll probably reject the next surgery as well.
 
Joshing323 said:
Air Force, yea I’m assuming the nerve test will be when they finally talk about the med board. I can’t feel my right leg at all and so far that’s just been me saying that, the nerve test will finally show that I’m not lying and how bad it is. I just figured we’d already have the med board talk but maybe I’m rushing it. Don’t really want to have a fusion at 34 so I’ll probably reject the next surgery as well.
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I would do your next test and when you discuss the results, if appropriate, bring up the idea of a board.
 
Joshing323 said:
Air Force, yea I’m assuming the nerve test will be when they finally talk about the med board. I can’t feel my right leg at all and so far that’s just been me saying that, the nerve test will finally show that I’m not lying and how bad it is. I just figured we’d already have the med board talk but maybe I’m rushing it. Don’t really want to have a fusion at 34 so I’ll probably reject the next surgery as well.
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I am not a huge fan of getting surgery in the military. The reason is that you can't sue for malpractice which is crap. If they wan't to do an additional surgery ask about the risks verse rewards. If the risks are too high make sure to express that opinion and ask if a MEB is possible if they aren't at the point of MEB after nerve test. Basically you want to ensure that the docs agree that refusing a treatment where you believe the risks outweigh the outweigh the benefits. If the doc thinks that it is unreasonable to refuse treatment they can kick you out without a medical retirement or severance. I am not sure if this applies to all branches but make sure to find out the answers before doing deciding to refuse any type of treatment that your doctor is asking you to do.
 
Joshing323 said:
Air Force, yea I’m assuming the nerve test will be when they finally talk about the med board. I can’t feel my right leg at all and so far that’s just been me saying that, the nerve test will finally show that I’m not lying and how bad it is. I just figured we’d already have the med board talk but maybe I’m rushing it. Don’t really want to have a fusion at 34 so I’ll probably reject the next surgery as well.
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Army here: I had a C5/6 fusion at 33 (civ as I was ARNG at the time), spent another 17 years in, including 9 of which on active duty all while with a permanent profile. There are many people who actually have fusions and are able to function 90% or better, however, only you know your body and your ability to bounce back. Best of luck to you. And @Provis is right, they can administratively separate you if you don't follow treatment protocol, however, you SHOULD be able to ask for a second opinion, don't forget that option.
 
Treatment should take priority over an MEB. Many people go on to serve full careers.
 
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