Starting the proccess today...

T

Thor

PEB Forum Regular Member
Hello all,

Well today I have my first appointment in the MEB process. I had been in PT for about 8 months following my anterior spinal fusion of L5-S1. (I opted for the surgery to get rid of the pain in my legs, seems all I did was trade one pair for another) About 5 years ago I had a microdiscectomy for the same problem. Last week my Doc at PT said that I had leveled out and there was nothing more he could do, and told me a MEB was in my future do to the level of pain/restriced range of motion I have.

I am an E-6 with 14.5 years in, a wife, and 2 kids at home, and living in constant pain for the last 2+ years has really put a toll on my home life. I am very short or disconnected with them at times. When I come home from work my back is so sore that all I can really do is roll up on the couch and zone out with a heating pad. Now I have the added stress of this whole process, as well as inpending money problems that will occure if I am booted out.

Does anyone know a apx time frame of MEB to civialian takes, as I fear I am heading there on a fast plane.

V/r
Kevin
 
Hi Kevin,

I can't definitively tell you how your case will happen, but I can share with you how it has been with my husband. He is now dealing with his fourth med board for spinal issues as well as a new condition. That said, this is his third med board in three years. He has not had a spinal fusion as you have, but he has been med boarded for various other issues connected to chronic pain, degenerative disc, and spondolysthesis.

The process has varied in time taken to complete from initiation to determination from four months to eight months over the course of his four boards. He has gone through the local board process and the informal process at AFPC, and obviously never gone past the return to duty determination.

I wish I had more information for you. I watch my husband deal with chronic pain, we've dealt with enormous amounts of stress due to these boards, and I can completely empathize with both you and your family. I think the main thing to remember is that if you want to fight to stay on active duty, enlist all the help you can from your commander and supervisors. Have your supervisors write letters to the board, and you can also write a letter. This was the approach we took when hubby was med boarded for the first time eleven years ago. The result of that board was a medical crosstrain. The other issue these days is that even if you do get a return to duty determination, you will still have to deal with a RILO or other med boards if your condition progresses. Our experience over the past three years has been that a return to duty determination was sort of a mixed blessing. Good luck, and again, I'm sorry I couldn't help more.
 
Hello all,

Sorry for bringing back this thread from the dead but, thought it would be best to keep everything in one place.

I just picked up my package from the PEBLO this morning and have a rating for 30% Permanent Retirement! this is good news for my family as the cost of insurance has being something causing me much stress. Since I have 9 days left to sign and send off the paperwork I was hoping to get some quick answers to a few questions my wife and I have come up with.

First, like I said I have a total 30% rating from two categories as follows:

a. Low Back Pain Due to Degenerative Disc Disease with Antalgic Gait 20%
b. Right Leg pain, Weakness and Spasms 10%

After going to a TAP class, and reading this site i don't think my ROM was filled out correctly. The exam itself seems to have been done spot on however there was only a brief mention of pain in it.

ratings are as follows:
F. Flex 85
Ext. 25
Lt Lat flex 35
Rt Lat flex 30
Lt Lat rot 30
Rt Lat rot 30

"Did Pain appear to limit ROM?" was marked yes for all but Lt Lat, and left and right lat Rot. From reading others results on this site the Doc were noting where the pain begins in the range of movement. This is not the case on mine, and the pain does begin very early when I do the forward flex movement. Is it too late to do anything about this? if I signed the papers and can i fight it later, and get my Mil retirement % changed?

Second I have an appointment to see my PCM about possible Sleep Apnea, as my wife nagging about my loud snoring, and periods of not breathing during the night have finally broken me down. Also from reading this forum it appears that Sleep Apnea is ratable for retirement purposes. If it is indeed found out I have had this problem all along as well what would be my options for getting my retirement % changed? if any.
 
The VA rates Sleep Apnea @ 50%, more importantly, proper diagnosis and treatment will prolong and enhance your life as well as improve your spouse's sleep!
 
Congrats on the PDRL!

I would take a hard look at the evidence available in regards to your ROM measurements and try to determine if it would warrant a different rating. This is something you should probably contact an attorney on, but yes, if you fight it later you can plausibly get your retirement percentage changed - more on that later in this post.

With your sleep apnea, this would require a cost-benefit analysis for the short term. If it turns out you have sleep apnea, the VA will most likely rate this and award you a much higher rating than your PDRL percentage - which could financially "balance" out not getting this included in your MEB while you seeks means of appeal as a retiree (again, I'd look into contacting an attorney). Just as an aside, this is something you should generally avoid (not getting something documented in your MEB) - ALL conditions should be documented in your MEB and evaluated by the PEB. With the cost-benefit analysis, this is contingent on your rank and years of service - a higher retirement percentage could easily outweight the VA benefit at 70-ish percent if you're a senior NCO or field grade officer with many years of service. So the dilemma is, should your pursue this short-term (i.e. get in touch with an attorney/PEBLO right now and pursue it while still in service) or take your time? In almost any case, I'd say it is ten times easier to seek relief with the former approach - but that may not be available. If it is, I'd say take advantage of it - especially if it does not jeopardize any current rating that you have (which fighting your back rating could do).

Generally speaking, the BCMR is the primary avenue of appeal to fight a PEB decision after the fact. But if you can help it, try and get the desired outcome at the PEB level. One last word, BCMR applications are extremely complex and I will emphasize one last time - an attorney should probably handle this aspect of your case if it gets to that point - primarily because an adverse decision from the BCMR involves an appeal to Federal Court (anything not raised at the BCMR cannot be raised in Federal Court, vis a vis the need for an attorney).
 
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