Upcoming MMRB!

soggydoughnut

Member
Registered Member
First of all, thanks for this great site and for putting time into it, now down to the dirty details.

I was hit by a mortar in August 2007 and recieved shrapnel to my left leg and lower left abdomen. It took colon repair surgery to patch me up and about October I started doing light light workouts. My back started hurting. Flash forward to March 2009 and I'm finally getting a 131111 for my back. I still have problems with my stomach and my leg, but more bothering is the fact the Doctor put me in for an MMRB without finishing my profile. He stated on the profile "No running in formations, no standing for over 30 minutes, unlimited run at own pace and distance." However, I can't run. Between a quarter to half mile my left arm goes numb, my back spasms out of control, and it reaches around my left ribcage and I can barely breath. So how can he put that it is a 131111 and I can take the running portion of an APFT?

Now that being said, I've recieved absolutely no information at all on my MMRB. I talked to a soldier that went through one and he told me I can take someone in my CoC (such as my 1SG) to sit with me, but everyone is deployed at JRTC. I've now been waiting for the MMRB for 2 months when I was told it would have to happen in less than 60 days. So being an 11b2p, what are the chances the MMRB will recommend me for a MEB? At this point, I've gone from a healthy kid to a creaky old man and there is really nothing left for me in the military. I wanted to go to ranger school, but I can't. Wanted to go to SFAS, but can't. Can't do my job. Don't like any other jobs in the Military. What are my options even? Really I'm just completely clueless.
As a note I'm at Ft. Bragg, and my Doctor (good guy actually) is so overbooked he flat out told me he should be seeing me every week but there is only a spot open once ever 5th week.
 
soggy,

Welcome! I assume your the person I saw on the 'other' forum, thanks for coming here. Hopefully you can find the answers you need.

With regard to your situation, I am sorry to hear about all that has happen. One thing I am curious to ask is what is the 'nature' of your symptoms now? Reason I ask is that it is important to know these symptoms as they will have to fall under a certain characterization in AR 40-501 chapter 3. Identifying what criteria you fall under in the regulation can be a great indicator as to where your case will end up.

With that said, if your condition (what the doctor precisely says you have at this point) is clearly medically unacceptable under AR 40-501 you should be referred to a MEB, not a MMRB.

Have you attempted to confer with any other doctors? Have you tried your battalion PA? Brigade Surgeon? These are all individuals who can initiate the MEB (if your conditions are clearly failing retention standards as listed in AR 40-501 ch. 3) or MMRB.

I hope all turns out well with your case, I can also tell you there will be plenty of others chiming in offering their advice and information. Good luck and ask/read away!
 
One thing I am curious to ask is what is the 'nature' of your symptoms now?

Have you attempted to confer with any other doctors? Have you tried your battalion PA? Brigade Surgeon? These are all individuals who can initiate the MEB (if your conditions are clearly failing retention standards as listed in AR 40-501 ch. 3) or MMRB.

It was not me in other, but hello, I'm glad to have found this resource.

My symptoms are about a baseline pain of 4-5 in my upper left back (I believe it is the L3 nerve area, in and around the shoulder blade). Activity of any repetitive sort increases the pain. When doing things such as off-roading in my truck, running, mowing, swimming, etc. my left arm will lose feeling quite quickly and my back will increase to about a 7 or 8 and it spreads up into my shoulder, neck, mid to lower back, and then down my tricep, outside of forearm, and my little and ring finger. Wearing an IBA/Rucksack while stationary cuases a slight increase in pain after 15 minutes to about a 6 and numbness follow after about 20 to 30 minutes. In addition when running the pain will wrap around my left ribcage and become very sharp and pronounced around my left pectoral area and down to my diaghram, and at first when it happened it felt like what everyone describes a heart attack as. In addition my leg after walking for several miles, running, biking, or climbing several stories of stairs will ache deeply, twitch, and slightly give out at random times. However, it is well within my means to deal with and the shrapnel, which I believe is the source of the problems, should work its way out relatively soon.

This is actually the third doctor I've seen (fourth if you include BN PA) and the Brigade Surgean seems to be alergic to me. I have never been refered to him in the past. As far as BN Medics go they usually tell me to rest, which after a year straight of resting it has only gotten worse which would indicate to me rest is not the proper treatment. To further compound this our PA broke his leg on a jump and was out for 2 months, and now for another month at JRTC. However, the feeling I've got from him throughout the duration of my injury is, and doesn't necessarily mean he is a bad PA, that he tries to get you good enough to complete the mission and not to fully rehabilitate you. That, however, is his primary mission, to make me mission capable.

My plan of action right now is to go to the Acute Minor Illness Clinic this saturday to get a second opinion on my back. After seeing three doctors all three concur something is horribly wrong with my back, but none can pinpoint what it is. My current treatment should be weekly, but is every 5 weeks, and consists of accupuncture needles being poked continualy to stimulate muscles in the area and then several trigger points being located and something very similar to a TENS unit being activated on the needles left in. It hasn't really helped and the process is actually very, very painful.

Thank you for putting the AR down as well, I'm going to go look it up and read it.
Soggy
 
soggy,

Sorry for the confusion, I referred someone with an extremely similar case here, obviously my assumption was incorrect. Anyway, I am glad you found this forum, it has been a great resource for me (I am currently undergoing a MEB/PEB for a cardiovascular condition) and I hope with the information you read here we can help you get things moving in the right direction.

At this point, I've gone from a healthy kid to a creaky old man and there is really nothing left for me in the military.
It's important that everyone here knows what you want, and more importantly, it's good to know what you want. Based off this statement I am operating under the assumption you want to head to the MEB/PEB and be separated/retired from the military.

You may have been referred to a MMRB because of your rank and time in service. However, as I stated earlier, if your condition clearly fails retention standards under AR 40-501 then you should be fasttracked to a MEB, not MMRB.

With that being said, it is important to point out the difference between the terms 'failing retention standards' and 'unfit for duty'. Simply put, failing retention standards implicitly asserts that your condition does meet the criteria listed in AR 40-501 chapter 3. However, this does not mean you are 'unfit for duty'. Fitness for duty can only be determined by the PEB, the final stage of the process. They are the gatekeepers and hold all the keys to deciding medical fitness or unfitness. You are not considered fit or unfit for duty until they say so. This was something I was unclear on at first and I'm sure most servicemembers are also when first entering the PDES (Physical Disability Evaluation System).

My symptoms are about a baseline pain of 4-5 in my upper left back (I believe it is the L3 nerve area, in and around the shoulder blade). Activity of any repetitive sort increases the pain. When doing things such as off-roading in my truck, running, mowing, swimming, etc. my left arm will lose feeling quite quickly and my back will increase to about a 7 or 8 and it spreads up into my shoulder, neck, mid to lower back, and then down my tricep, outside of forearm, and my little and ring finger. Wearing an IBA/Rucksack while stationary cuases a slight increase in pain after 15 minutes to about a 6 and numbness follow after about 20 to 30 minutes. In addition when running the pain will wrap around my left ribcage and become very sharp and pronounced around my left pectoral area and down to my diaghram, and at first when it happened it felt like what everyone describes a heart attack as. In addition my leg after walking for several miles, running, biking, or climbing several stories of stairs will ache deeply, twitch, and slightly give out at random times.
I am not a doctor so I can't really tell you what the cause and effect is here, but I can show you where I'd look in AR 40-501:

3–12. Upper extremities
3–14. Miscellaneous conditions of the extremities
3–39. Spine, scapulae, ribs, and sacroiliac joints
3–41. General and miscellaneous conditions and defects

the Brigade Surgean seems to be alergic to me.
Why does this not surprise me, mine is also a ghost. You mentioned your unit is at JRTC, chances are he is there too.

...the feeling I've got from him throughout the duration of my injury is, and doesn't necessarily mean he is a bad PA, that he tries to get you good enough to complete the mission and not to fully rehabilitate you. That, however, is his primary mission, to make me mission capable.
I agree, his mission is to make you mission capable. However, if you are clearly not meeting the standards by no fault of your own (i.e. as a result of your injuries and any proximate conditions resulting) it is his job to ensure you are properly treated and evaluated, in order to determine if you can eventually be mission capable.

My current treatment should be weekly, but is every 5 weeks
Ridiculous!

consists of accupuncture needles being poked continualy to stimulate muscles in the area and then several trigger points being located and something very similar to a TENS unit being activated on the needles left in. It hasn't really helped and the process is actually very, very painful.
robs42, another moderator on this forum, is the local SME (subject-matter expert) on back related treatment. Hopefully he comes along and offers some insight on this.

In regards to your plan of action, I think that is a good call. Realistically all you need is a doctor to diagnose you in plain english. If this is a civilian doctor, bring documentation and supporting citations from AR 40-501 to whatever doc is available in the TMC. This is what I did and the PA didn't dare contradict the observations of a board certified cardiologist. He put me in for a MEB immediately. I cannot say the same will happen for you but it is worth a shot.

I know no one is around right now but there has to be at least 1 PA in the TMC left behind to in lieu of the brigade surgeon and other PAs being at JRTC. I would try and identify this individual and go after them to get this thing started. Soggy, I wish you the best of luck and hope your condition improves!
 
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