Have you been calling and checking up on them?
My PEB
- Thread starter Dr_DeJesus13
- Start date
Hey man, quick update on my situation.
I saw Dr. Chen this past Friday. After examining me, he said that my incision is low enough in the groin that it is likely that only my genitofemoral nerve is damaged. As a result, he is recommending me for selective neurectomy of the genitofemoral nerve (as opposed to a triple.) He said he usually does triple neurectomies, but in my case, only one nerve is necessary.
Hoping it helps! I've been in a lot of pain.
Awesome. Wish you the best! I know that the Genitofemoral Nerve was my biggest culprit for pain based upon the fact that I got no relief from an epidural at the L1, but when I had an epidural at the L2, I got about a days worth of complete relief, and since that is the only one that generates from the L2 (and somewhat from the L1, too, I believe), I can only assume that the Genitofemoral Nerve is my biggest issue.
BREAK BREAK
*On another note, I spoke with my PEBLO today, and since my case has been with the PEB since 19 Oct (not Nov 2, which I was told a couple of weeks ago), and I have not gotten a decision yet, I have "unofficially" been found UNFIT, and now just awaiting decision of Percentages, etc. I suspect that I'll still have to wait 6-8 more weeks before I actually get the official results. Kinda bummed--was hoping for a miracle, I guess, but now it's on to 100%, full throttle Resume submission time, I guess!
Thank you. Would you say the surgery helped you? Is the numbness ever bothersome? From what you replied it sounds like it does not bother you?
Sorry. Been out of pocket for a bit. But yes, it helped. Absolutely. Unfortunately, this isn't 5 years ago when that was my only problem. Had other surgeries that did more harm than good, and now I'm stuck with random spikes of pain deeper than the numbness after the Triple Neurectomy.
That said, the area does not feel as "weird" as I thought it would. It's in an area where we typically do not sense much touch anyway. And you still feel things 'underneath' the numbness, if that makes any sense; so it's not as if you are walking around with a huge area of your body that you can't feel. I did notice some irritation in the area for about a month, but just like the Dr. stated, it went away/burned itself out a little after a month.
As an aside, no word yet on my PEB, but it is still with the Navy, according to my PEBLO, so still need to wait on the VA when they get it.
Here's a question for the general board. I've seen some Army timelines that last but couple of weeks. That leads me to believe that the VA may not take very long once they get it, right? Basically, it appears the large majority of the extended wait times for Navy personnel is due to the Navy process, not VA, correct?
Would anyone be willing to elaborate on that point, for those that have completed the process? Thanks in advance!
I sent my package to the IPEB 16SEP15 and got it was sent to the VA after being found unfit 23NOV15. My ratings are done now(07DEC15) according to the PEBLO, but the IPEB hasn't gotten it back yet. So its pretty fast after the FIT/UNFIT is determined.
Thank you for the response. I am hopeful that the surgery helps me as well, although my surgery will be selective neurectomy as opposed to triple.
Not to sound like a downer, but I would like to know, what keeps you going every day when you know that you will always be in some amount of pain? Have you been able to just focus on other things? This is something that I am currently struggling with. I have been in pain for many, many months now, and the only thing that keeps me going is the hope that one day I will be pain free. But if it gets to the point where I have done everything I can possibly do, I am still in pain, and have to accept that I will be that way for the rest of my life, I don't know if I will be able to go on anymore. I want so badly to live, but living in pain is not an option. So if it gets to that point, I may have to make a tough decision.
@NAV LDO - The VA portion is decently quick from my opinoin although I am sure there can be some hold ups. In regards to the rest of the process i.e. the Navy or in my case the Army it drags and becomes this huge drawn out process which has no end in sight. If you look at my timeline below you can see that not all Army cases move "fast" nor do they follow the average IDES timeline.
It isn't easy, but what has really helped me, and please, I beg you, go seek a pain psychologist. What so many pain patients, and heck, just about everybody who isn't a trained mental health professional, don't understand is that the pain cannot be treated with medicine/PT/acupuncture, etc. alone; there is a whole psychological aspect to it as well, as you are no doubt experiencing.
Chronic Pain causes depression and/or anxiety--for me, it's anxiety mostly. It took me almost two years to figure this out, and for the past 3+ years, I've been seeing a mental health professional (and TBH, I've being seeing both a psychologist and psychiatrist). And yes, I am taking medicine to help cope with the mental aspect as well.
Another 'mental' or 'emotional' aspect for me is feelings of 'inadequacy'. Just 6 years ago I could do whatever I needed to do around the house, and more importantly, the Navy; now? Not so much. There are times my wife has to do things in 'my domain' of the yard work, because I just can't. I know, I've tried and paid the price for several hours, and sometimes days, following. I also cannot do a lot of things that I used to do that I really enjoyed, so all of this is 'deflating', and without the help of a trained pain psychologist, I'd be much worse off than I am.
So again, please go speak with a pain psychologist, as they can give you, or I guess the better way to say it is train you in some techniques to help you deal with the emotional side of chronic pain, because medicine or procedures/surgery alone are not the end all, be all to chronic pain, as you can fully attest to.
On another note, I was absolutely SHOCKED to find out I've been found FIT for my conditions. I will be counseled on the paperwork here shortly. So now I need to decide if I'm going to request a Formal PEB or not. I want to stay in the Navy, but not at the cost of going through this process every year until either a) they find me UNFIT eventually, or b) I make it to retirement. This process is nerve racking, to say the least, and since they started the process back in August, I've developed a shoulder issue, but I'm still in the phase of figuring out the issue behind the pain. So far, all I have is an X-Ray that shows I have a calcification, but haven't gone through any other diagnostic method yet, and am in the midst of changing Drs., so it may be a few weeks before I get an Ultrasound done. I think I'm going to post this is a fresh thread to seek guidance. I don't know what would be best to do.