Bipolar Disorder TDRL vs PDRL

Hello all,

I am in the United States Army with 18 yrs and 6 months in service. I was referred to the MEB by the psychiatrist that diagnosed me with Bipolar Disorder. I have been through the MEB and now my packet is going to the PEB. I spoke to legal, and based off of the evaluation by the psychiatrist at QTC, he is fairly certain that VA will rate me at 70% for Bipolar Disorder. I have seen many posts regarding placement on the TDRL when diagnosed with mental disorders because the condition is not considered to be stable at the time of retirement. The doctor in the NARSUM stated verbatim "SM is not likely to be able to return to service within a year" AND "SM condition is not likely to change within the next 5 years." My question is, is this sufficient evidence to the PEB that the rated condition is stable, and therefore placement on the PDRL is likely? Thank you all in advance for your responses.

 

[Warrior644]

Hello all,

I am in the United States Army with 18 yrs and 6 months in service. I was referred to the MEB by the psychiatrist that diagnosed me with Bipolar Disorder. I have been through the MEB and now my packet is going to the PEB. I spoke to legal, and based off of the evaluation by the psychiatrist at QTC, he is fairly certain that VA will rate me at 70% for Bipolar Disorder. I have seen many posts regarding placement on the TDRL when diagnosed with mental disorders because the condition is not considered to be stable at the time of retirement. The doctor in the NARSUM stated verbatim "SM is not likely to be able to return to service within a year" AND "SM condition is not likely to change within the next 5 years." My question is, is this sufficient evidence to the PEB that the rated condition is stable, and therefore placement on the PDRL is likely? Thank you all in advance for your responses.

Welcome to the PEB Forum!

Well, every DoD IDES case file is different albeit it's initially dependant upon how the DoVA D-RAS rated your mental disorder (e.g. via VASRD §4.129 Mental disorders due to traumatic stress or VASRD §4.130 Schedule of ratings—Mental disorders via occupational and social impairment).

As such, a VASRD §4.129 criteria rating shall probably always yield a DoD military TDRL finding by the DoD IDES PEB. If the DoVA D-RAS used the VASRD §4.130 criteria rating based upon the medical documentation/evidence showing occupational and social impairment, the DoD IDES PEB could potentially yield a DoD military PDRL finding. Take care!

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

Best Wishes!

 

[freedomforcegal]

My doctor stated that SM condition is likely to get worse before improvement shows and I was placed on TDRL. I wish you luck with yours.

 

[SHEPGBL]

Thank you both very much for your replies. I guess I will just have to play the waiting game to find out when the time comes. Either way, it is still unexpected as I expected to finish my career and retire at 20. Life sometimes has other plans. Have a great day!