New MEB, havent started anything yet. Trying to be as informed as possible.

[dals]

Hello, I am AD Air force, almost 12 years. Crew chief, I just had back to back appointments with my PCM and hand surgeon at Ortho asking me what i want to do and i am accepting/pushing for MEB. My major problem is my left wrist Scapholunate Ligament, the doc couldn't tell exactly what was wrong at first but when he scoped it, it was pretty much gone. I cant remember the name of the procedure but he said he disconnected the tendon for my thumb and cut some off to use to replace the ligament. 5 months after surgery and it has been stretched way more than he was expecting it to i dont know how bad that is but it was already a major injury. I have gone through two months of physical therapy but my ROM is about half, or less compared to my other wrist, from what i have looked up so far it it will not be rated though 15 ' "up" was 10 percent and i can bend it down so that showed only a rating it if i could not at all.

some things related to this are the top of my left wrist is mostly numb and i have a tender to the touch scar below my left thumb I also have several other scar's, one that's still attached to a tendon in my forearm that pulls on the skin when i move my wrist.

If anyone knows what this might be rated under i would appreciate the info. all i have found online is people with Scapholunate tears, while to quote the doctor mine looked like strands of crab meat. As far as other conditions i'm not sure if any of them will be "unfitting" but here they are


mild cubital tunnel in both elbows, about to start physical therapy/nerve stretches

carpal tunnel in both wrists ( have had surgery on both does that matter? ) I generally have pain in both hands from doing pretty much anything too much, eventually my wrists get swollen and it feels like it did before the release surgeries.

I have documented hearing loss, had to get my baseline changed but i am told it is still within normal range and that i just had outstanding hearing at my initial exam, although i personally disagree, I'm told i talk loud and have to tell people to speak up pretty often. My ears ring but i usually dont notice it except in silence. Always have music on or a fan at least. would this be Tinnitus atleast with VA?

I have mild - med generalized anxiety and have taken medication for about 4 years ( SSRI's ) they only gave me Xanax once and told me they were not giving me more to prevent addiction, plus i probably would of been MEB'd sooner if i was taking it regularly because of my job. Before i got on a medication that worked i also sleep walked for a while, i havent recently that i know of.

My teeth are worn from grinding them in my sleep ( Bruxism ) and have been issued a fitted guard from the dentist.

I have knee pain on any high impact activity's or just if i have been standing too long. All i have found out is i have scar tissue around my knee caps and basically " Runner's Knee " because my inner thigh muscles are weaker than the rest, Physical therapy did not help but i have not pursued this issue much i had x rays and they said its normal spacing, lose weight. should i try to get an MRI? i have been on the walk test for two years.

That's all i can think of right now i just want to Thank you all in advance for information/guidance I have not even seen the PEBLO yet and i may be jumpin the gun but thats just the anxiety i guess so if anyone have advice or some links to good information please post/message me also what kind of timeline is it from when i see the PEBLO and i get sent for VA exam?

 

[Warrior644]

Hello, I am AD Air force, almost 12 years. Crew chief, I just had back to back appointments with my PCM and hand surgeon at Ortho asking me what i want to do and i am accepting/pushing for MEB. My major problem is my left wrist Scapholunate Ligament, the doc couldn't tell exactly what was wrong at first but when he scoped it, it was pretty much gone. I cant remember the name of the procedure but he said he disconnected the tendon for my thumb and cut some off to use to replace the ligament. 5 months after surgery and it has been stretched way more than he was expecting it to i dont know how bad that is but it was already a major injury. I have gone through two months of physical therapy but my ROM is about half, or less compared to my other wrist, from what i have looked up so far it it will not be rated though 15 ' "up" was 10 percent and i can bend it down so that showed only a rating it if i could not at all.

some things related to this are the top of my left wrist is mostly numb and i have a tender to the touch scar below my left thumb I also have several other scar's, one that's still attached to a tendon in my forearm that pulls on the skin when i move my wrist.

If anyone knows what this might be rated under i would appreciate the info. all i have found online is people with Scapholunate tears, while to quote the doctor mine looked like strands of crab meat. As far as other conditions i'm not sure if any of them will be "unfitting" but here they are

mild cubital tunnel in both elbows, about to start physical therapy/nerve stretches

carpal tunnel in both wrists ( have had surgery on both does that matter? ) I generally have pain in both hands from doing pretty much anything too much, eventually my wrists get swollen and it feels like it did before the release surgeries.

I have documented hearing loss, had to get my baseline changed but i am told it is still within normal range and that i just had outstanding hearing at my initial exam, although i personally disagree, I'm told i talk loud and have to tell people to speak up pretty often. My ears ring but i usually dont notice it except in silence. Always have music on or a fan at least. would this be Tinnitus atleast with VA?

I have mild - med generalized anxiety and have taken medication for about 4 years ( SSRI's ) they only gave me Xanax once and told me they were not giving me more to prevent addiction, plus i probably would of been MEB'd sooner if i was taking it regularly because of my job. Before i got on a medication that worked i also sleep walked for a while, i havent recently that i know of.

My teeth are worn from grinding them in my sleep ( Bruxism ) and have been issued a fitted guard from the dentist.

I have knee pain on any high impact activity's or just if i have been standing too long. All i have found out is i have scar tissue around my knee caps and basically " Runner's Knee " because my inner thigh muscles are weaker than the rest, Physical therapy did not help but i have not pursued this issue much i had x rays and they said its normal spacing, lose weight. should i try to get an MRI? i have been on the walk test for two years.

That's all i can think of right now i just want to Thank you all in advance for information/guidance I have not even seen the PEBLO yet and i may be jumpin the gun but thats just the anxiety i guess so if anyone have advice or some links to good information please post/message me also what kind of timeline is it from when i see the PEBLO and i get sent for VA exam?

Welcome to the PEB Forum!

Since the DoD IDES MEB/PEB process is a performance-based system with an officially published timeline, I would like to direct your attention to my PEB Forum URL thread for a detailed explanation about the entire DoD IDES process as follows:

http://www.pebforum.com/site/threads/a-detailed-explanation-of-the-dod-ides-meb-peb-process.22807/

With that said, please remain "positively proactive" upon your referral and potential acceptance into the DoD IDES process! At that point, never default acceptance to any injustices; fight then continue to fight some more until receipt of your desired expectations supportive via medical evidence and/or medical documentation!

As such, please take care, continue to get well, and most importantly enjoy life to the fullest extent as feasibly possible!

Thus, I quite often comment that "possessing well-informed knowledge is truly a powerful equalizer."

Best Wishes!

 

[scoutCC]

Biggest worry at this point, in my mind, is ensuring your profile is correct. While not true 100% of the time, as the arguments can get more complex, as a general rule the "unfitting" matches the profile. As your story stands, it looks likely only the wrist strength is profiled as it appears you've been dealing with the other problems. A profile helps clarify the limitations and move something like knee pain into can't stand in formation or hearing loss into can't perform duties around loud vehicles or carpal tunnel into can't fire a weapon, /shrug. Lots of ways these items might be interfering with your job, lots of ways they might be something you can indeed deal with, profile is the best way to match those things up.

Biggest problem I see is people assuming that because a problem is real or severe that the DoD will rate it. I have seen those with 70% PTSD considered fit for PTSD, which boggles my mind. The decision makers simply say that with no profile and not mentioned on the commander's statement, hence it didn't interfere with job performance, so its fit. As I said, the profile isn't the end all be all, sometimes you can show the docs got it wrong. If you can convince a doc to get your profile right, it will help.

Tinnitus is indeed noise, usually ringing, in the ears. Most common rating for the VA, never unfit.

The VASRD has a specific rating for scars. Painful, unstable, give a 10%, different ratings for size. Fairly unusual for a scar to be big enough for a rating unless they are around the face.

For VA purposes I found the MRI didn't matter. They generally just look the ROM and rate. My opinion is when it comes to the VA claim, don't worry about evidence too terribly much. Start at the top of the head and start listing off everything that's a problem. You can be pretty darn vague in the claim and allow the VA to sort out the details generally. The C&P examiner seemed perfectly able and willing to accept that I avoided the docs for certain issues and didn't have a problem still seeing them as issues. Even if they come back with a 0% rating, that establishes the evidence trail so if things get bad in the future, the VA claim is easier.

 

[dals]

Thank you i will definitely have to get my profile to be more specific now i am overseas so i haven't shot for about 3 years but there is no way i could do it now, same thing for CPR/CBRNE/SABC, the training guys keep pushing my date out so i don't show up on overdue slides. I am waiting on a phone call from my nurse because my hand surgeon wants to explain everything to them in my favor. I will have to have another appointment anyway though since finding out how much the ligament has stretched i don't want to make the pain any worse than it already is, It should not be a problem to have my commander and supervisor's write my limitations but I have not told anyone at work that it has gotten worse and i am accepting/pushing for MEB yet, honestly i would rather keep it as private as possible but doesn't look like that's gonna happen or be a good idea... should i wait for the PEBLO to call first or let my commander know my situation asap?