Can't do sit-up or run for PRT

[hesodeous]

Hi everyone. New here.. But I had a question. Doesn't everyone?

So I have pilionidal disease, it was diagnosed in 2014 at my first duty station. I went to medical frequently for it getting infected. Doctors there recommended surgery but the surgeons refused at the time. I continue to my next duty station, sea duty overseas. I had a school in between where I once again went to medical for it getting infected again. It was every other month or so at this point. The doctor there recommended surgery but said I'd lose my orders if I went with it. I declined and said I'd get it taken care of once I got to my new duty station.

I got out here, did one deployment and then had surgery (natal cleft lift//removed diseased skin) the spring before deployment. I missed first half of cruise, went on the second half. It's been about nine months and I'm having pain doing situps and running. The surgeon did a scan and found nothing wrong underneath the surface, nothing wrong up top either. He's got no idea what could be causing my pain. He said no one's returned with this pain before either.

He suggested limdu and long term pain meds. I have to see another physician before anything is concrete. I'm really scared that they'll think I'm faking this pain. I want to stay in and finish my contract, but not at the expense of my health. My doctor said there's no guarantee that limdu will even help me. I've had one waiver for this reason last spring and now I need another, which will send me to a MEB.

All in all, I'm just really worried of the outcome. It hurts too much to do situps and run. I can do the elliptical, that's fine with me and my command. If they don't give me a waiver, I'll likely fail the situp portion of my PRT and they'll have to do an ADSEP due to a failure in 2015. I don't know if Limdu will help or not. Would I be better off pushing to get out? It'll be upsetting for sure but I'm not sure what else I can do.

Thank you to anyone who's able to help or offer any guidance.

 

[Almost_Separated]

Welcome to the forum hesodeous!

My recommendation on the PRT portion of your story is this,

Be as persistent with your doctors as you can be. If your doctor wants you to do the sit-up portion of the test then say alright I will give sit-ups my best shot. When you get home that day give sit-ups a shot and continue to do so over the duration of the week. If this exercise causes your condition to flair up then schedule an acute appointment with your doctor. He or she will be surprised to see you again so soon. Tell them that you followed their advice and now your condition is significantly exacerbated. They should then realize their mistake and waive this portion of the test for you.

I give you this advice specifically because it was my own personal experience. Additionally, I have seen people fail their PT test before because they failed to persistently inform their doctor that an exercise was causing their condition to flair up. Failing your test because of your condition is entirely way too late in the game to give feedback to your doctor. Be very persistent about your restrictions well in advance of your test. My PCM got tired of renewing my profile every 3 months so she just gave me a year long one. Persistence is key to good medical care.