[3489]

It looks as if my military career may soon be getting cut short due to some serious medical issues.

I have read the regs and scoured the web and tried to keep my ear to the ground, but have any (prior) military types have any experience with medical boards? Specifically, things to be aware of/look out for/help keep it from getting bogged down?

 

[Nexus242]

Is it the thing with your feet??

 

[cirsory]

i went through one. mine went smoothly though. from the time the decision was made, took about 6-8 months to be out.

 

[3489]

Yeah pretty much; and it's getting worse instead of better. Long story with uninteresting details; suffice it to say at this point daily tasks have become torture and am sick of doctors tinkering with me.

 

[3489]

i went through one. mine went smoothly though. from the time the decision was made, took about 6-8 months to be out.

Blah. I was hoping they'd gotten a little faster :/

 

[cirsory]

it varies person to person honestly. there was a couple people in my unit that started their med board a few months before me but were still there when i left with a few more months to go.
yeah them military doctors are a joke. i had a torn ligament/bone fracture that was somehow just a sprain for 3 months. physical therapy was not the right solution and now i can't run

 

[SpeedisaVirus]

Yeah. I wouldn't expect faster than 6 months unless it's something pretty out there. I have seen 6 weeks for extreme PTSD to over a year for a seriously wrecked knee. The most important thing is that you have been seeing someone for the issue and they have determined there is a real injury. Paper trail, they have attempted treatment(physical therapy, surgery, what have you), and it is still an issue that is impeding your ability to work. I think it is really dependent on the people working your particular case. I've known several people to get them and some have gone butter smooth and others seem as they have to breathe down their neck to get them to move the package.

Military doctors have to be the dunces of med school for the most part. I had some shoulder/back injury which they tried to dismiss as a sprain for months. Nothing but motrin and stretches administered . I eventually won my argument to see a civilian specialist after 5 visits which immediately identified the issue and couldn't believe how they had not come to the same conclusion much less let it slide that long through the number of times I visited them.

 

[3489]

:/

I've been working this issue for a year, and like you Speed, am just now getting to see the real specialists...who can't do much for me. My primary care manager is the BDE surgeon, and he's said he'll initiate the board within a month unless basically a miracle cure is discovered.

But in the meantime, I've got to report to work go at it 100%. After about 1000, making it through the day is torture. A few of the dozens of meds they've given me help me get through the day, but unfortunately, they really mess with my performance and ability to function. I can't imagine having to go 6-12 more months like this.

Bah, didn't mean to whine. Just it's become quite the albatross around my neck.

So what I'm hearing is basically, you gotta just suck it up and wait for the system...

 

[SpeedisaVirus]

Have you asked for light duty? If they are considering an MEB they know you have an injury that affects your capacity to fulfill your duties. Should be granted. Limited standing and walking...

 

[cirsory]

Have you asked for light duty? If they are considering an MEB they know you have an injury that affects your capacity to fulfill your duties. Should be granted. Limited standing and walking...

yeah i had a permenant profile rating of 3. barely did anything, which sucked. couldn't do anything but chump work. i apologize if some of my terminology is a bit rusty.

 

[3489]

Have you asked for light duty? If they are considering an MEB they know you have an injury that affects your capacity to fulfill your duties. Should be granted. Limited standing and walking...

I told my chain of command, yet they transferred me to a different BN to OIC a section shop; given the mission they want me to do right now, I've become a 'point of failure' AKA the shop can't meet mission without me daily. Yeah, it's not digging ditches, but it's long days on my feet, and all the appointments I have conflict with it.

This really sucks because I didn't want my career to end like this. I had been fighting it until about 2-3 months ago, but at this point, not being in the military would be a relief.:'( I just feel like when I try to meet my military obligations, I hurt myself further, but when I try to take proper care of myself/follow physician's orders I can't do my military duties. Plus, now I'll never have the type of career I want(ed).

 

[SpeedisaVirus]

Well, you can't beat yourself up over this. It's not your fault that their personnel management blows. Do the things you need to do. I would ask the doc for a letter explaining the limits imposed by your condition.

 

[3489]

Well, you can't beat yourself up over this. It's not your fault that their personnel management blows. Do the things you need to do. I would ask the doc for a letter explaining the limits imposed by your condition.

I have that, and have explained it to my chain of command. But I'm a broke female in an infantry BDE fresh off deployment...there's not a lot of understanding there. At first I would just suck it up work like crazy, but that's caused so many more problems. Now, I've put my health before the Army, and that's causing some friction, particularly with this new unit.

By regulation, I should be in one of the hospital's recovery unit, but the system is so backlogged with combat wounded that they've closed it to cases like mine.

So I'm in a huge rock and a hard place right now, open to any advice.

Thanks for the comments and shared stories, all. I consider myself a strong (well, more like stubborn) person, but this has gotten very overwhelming.

 

[SpeedisaVirus]

Meh, I can sympathize. I don't know how it is in the army but...in the air force they would regularly try and push people who were on light duty to do things they shouldn't be doing. Funny thing was that when people who were on light duty stood up and said "I can't do it, here are my papers, I don't feel as though I can handle it" nothing happened to them. Not much they can really do to you if you are within the bounds of the doctor's opinion.

I know when I got hurt they would always throw me on jobs that I really shouldn't have been doing, "Go throw that DFLCC in" or "Get that PSP on the truck"(all heavy stuff). I did it for a while until I realized it was going to end up aggravating my injuries. I set the limits of what I would do (within the bounds of my doctor's papers) and whenever there was something my technical expertise was needed but required some lifting, someone was assigned to tag along even if they had no clue what was going on. Made my life better while I was working on the physical therapy and still allowed me to contribute to my unit which was win/win.

Either way, make sure you mind your health while you sort out the MEB biz. Don't make things worse. I hope it goes smoothly for you.

 

[3489]

Thanks Speed

I guess I just need to find a balance that'll tide me and the unit over until the MEB goes through.

 

[cirsory]

again, i was opposite. army too. they never pushed me to do more than what the profile says. even when i got the motorcycle they questioned if i was capable of it due to my profile. you do need to stay within your limits though. its hard to say no to your superiors.