Crohns MEB Help

A

AJOFARIZONA

PEB Forum Regular Member
I was diagnosed with Crohns disease in Jul of 2007. I have served a total of 12 1/2 years total. I recently had a flare up and they are now going to MEB me. I have so many worries and questions.

First: What is the average Diability rating for Crohns. Mine is now completly under control responding awesome to Meds. I am fighting to stay in, but if something goes wrong I need to know this stuff.

Second: I had an Article 15 over a year ago and am worried this could affect my board.

Third: What percentage do I need to have Tri Care for me and my family. This is waht scares me the most. No one seems to know. This is the most important thing i can ask.

Fourth: My PCM ( Dr) called a friend of his and asked what my chances were. He said to medical seperate/Retire me because I would lose my world Wide Mobility Stats. I would become Code C. He also told me they go by a mobility percentage for my career feild. Mine is 26%. I guess thier Cut-Off is 20% or less. He also said thier are so many factors that are looked at I could be returned to duty. Which is what I want! Now I am being told it will take 90 days to be evaluted by my PCM to make sure my treatment is susccesful. Then I will have the Informal MEB. He tols me if they suggest seperation/retirement, then I can fight it with at the Formal PMEB. My CMSgt is backing me and so is my PCM. He said if it was his decision, I would be fit for duty because I have so much control over my Crohns. I wnt 2 years with 1 flare-up without Meds.

I really want to stay in, does anyone have any answers at all?
 
AJOFARIZONA said:
First: What is the average Diability rating for Crohns. Mine is now completly under control responding awesome to Meds. I am fighting to stay in, but if something goes wrong I need to know this stuff.

Second: I had an Article 15 over a year ago and am worried this could affect my board.

Third: What percentage do I need to have Tri Care for me and my family. This is waht scares me the most. No one seems to know. This is the most important thing i can ask.

Fourth: My PCM ( Dr) called a friend of his and asked what my chances were. He said to medical seperate/Retire me because I would lose my world Wide Mobility Stats. I would become Code C. He also told me they go by a mobility percentage for my career feild. Mine is 26%. I guess thier Cut-Off is 20% or less. He also said thier are so many factors that are looked at I could be returned to duty. Which is what I want! Now
Click to expand...

1. Only a couple people here have had Crohns but don't really have "statistics"

2. Nope.

3. 30%+

4. Not clear on what your asking.
 
hey my dad was in the army for 20 years and was also diagnosed with cronhs disease while in the service, luckly he was able to to retire soon after finding out. i cant really help with much of the milarty questions. although he did have a unique outcome from a surgical precedure to control the flare ups so if you have any questions about the disease or would like presepcitve from another case of i would be happy to help (:
 
responses to your questions based on my experience only (every case is different)

1. I was rated at 10% for Crohn's every time. (twice at IPEB, once at FPEB) I was surprised by this because if you all you knew about me was what you read in their report on my medical records (the narrative mostly) you would think I was barely alive. The second time through the entire PEB process I decided to throw in the towel and stop fighting. I took the 10% and currently have an appeal in with the PDBR. The VA gave me a disability rating of 50% effective on discharge from active duty. They rated my Crohn's at 30% (which is the basis of my case with the PDBR. If the PEB process has evolved as intended, they will now be more closely following the VA rating schedule, so you may have a chance at a better rating, but if it was me, I wouldn’t expect anything other than 10% unless more than half of my intestines had been taken out and I was carrying a colostomy bag. If you’ve only had one flare in 2 years they will look at that and probably say, yup, he’s got Crohn’s, but it’s only mild, so we’ll give him 10%.

2. By the books, no, I don't think should not affect your board. I think the only records they see in addition to your MEB narrative and medical records is what you give them. I wouldn't mention it though :)

3. As others mentioned, 30%. If you get a 10% rating, you should get Tri-Care for 6 months (I did) after your date of separation to cover you and your family while you get settled into another job (which hopefully has insurance benefits). The ID card you get after you are discharged indicates the date of expiration for medical coverage (6 months) and the general expiration (2 years) for other things like MWR, commissary, BX, etc.

4. I was diagnosed in 2003, first boarded in 2003-04, and operated with a Assignment Limitation Code C. I even got a stateside "deployment" in. I had a flare up in 2008, and 8 months after that (even though I was doing fine) they decided to board me. Not being deployable is definitely tough, especially in today's environment. I felt as though my inability to deploy put me at a disadvantage in regards to career progression. After all, if a promotion board came down to choosing between the guy who hasn't deployed since 2001, and the guy who's been to Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Africa, which one do you think will get promoted?

At the end of the day, I had to look at the situation and say, do I really want to keep fighting this when at best, I'll be returned to duty with a C code, and not be able to fully participate in the deployment aspect of our profession? The year (03-04) that I spent going through my first board process to receive a return to duty finding only on my final appeal was miserable for me and my family. I vowed not to put myself and my wife through that again.

I've been fortunate to get a job in the same career field I was in, working as a GS instead of an officer. Now, as a GS, I can't be discriminated against on the basis of my medical condition. (which I could be as a uniformed member, and rightfully so, although I didn't agree with the process and decisions that were made in my case)

Please contact me if you would like to chat more about this. I know how very frustrating the whole thing (Crohn’s and the MEB/PEB) can be.
 
UPDATE:
April 9th I received a call from the MEB People at the Base hospital. She explained they found me unfit for duty and recommended 10%. My Primary care Manager had warned me that would probably be the case. I have 13 years in and the decision has been hard. I have scouted out possible jobs that I would like to do and want to make a living out of, but have not posted yet. It would be a GS-7 Budget Tech position. I am torn because starting out it is $39,674 a year. If I take the job I would fight for 30% Medical retirement. The problem is I have a second child coming in November and my wife is trying to nest. I will submit my appeal later this week. Either way I will appeal either to stay in or fight for retirement. I feel at this time because it is under control I can fight and maybe win. The thing is I don't deploy where I am and can stick around a few more years. My worry is that I have no where to go with my family and have bills to pay. To leave would destroy my family and prevent me from getting a budget job.

I wish I had a few more years to get a few more things done. I have another E-5 in my shop that has a pacemaker and cannot perform PT. He is allowed to stay in. This really pissed allot of people off, but he has managed to do this for three years. I have 13 years, if only I can push it a few more. Although my Primary Care Manager still feels I have a 90% chance of returning to duty. I almost feel like I should fight at the formal, and if it fails, then try to get a retirement from the Secretary of the air force. I have 13 years already, I really want to finish what I started. Thanks all who have been commenting on my thread. All comments are appreciated. AJ
 
Howdy. Sorry to hear your news. Maybe I can be of some encouragement. If you think you have a chance of winning an appeal, go for it. I had to take it all the way to the SECAF appeal board but was able to stay in with Crohn's. The second time around I just didn't have the heart to go through the whole appeal process again, being on the fence for so long. Just remember, using both teh FPEB and SECAF appeals will take about 6 months. Even if the SECAF comes back with discharge at 10%, you have 60-90 days from then to seperate. In a nutshell, if you want to drag this out you can have another 6-9 months on active duty in the appeal process. Even if you don't get the 30% rating, it will give you mroe time to prepare for the next chapter of your career.
 
ndrkk,
Did you get a severance check? I have heard horror story's about this subject, but can I get the check tax free. This is just a rumor I heard and wanted to see if you heard something since you have the same condition. Any help is appreciated. So far I do not have a date yet with the formal board. It has been hard on my wife with the sitting in Limbo. Thanks
 
how long did it take them to diagnos you, i have had a issue that they have said is either IBD or Crohns but they have been scratching they're heads for 2 years and can't figure it out still. not to mention they seem to forget about it and only revisit the case when oh i don't know i try to cross train or something. funny how it isn't important until i request a 422 for retraining. it's like they put me off until i have a bad flare up or beat their doors down. frustration :mad:
 
Yes, I did get severance pay. I think it showed up a couple weeks after my discharge date. They withheld 30% I think for taxes, but following instructions I found on here, and submitting my VA rating to DFAS, I was able to get the withheld portion sent to me. That was a couple months later. It was easy, and since I did it all in the same year, no W-2 complications. The thing that sucks about severance is that at the end of the day, it's really just an advance of your VA disability payment, not an actual stand alone payment.
 
as to diagnosis of Crohn's. I went into the hospital in a lot of pain and got a preliminary diagnosis within a couple weeks. Then went through a lot of no he doesn't yes he does have Crohn's form the docs. Basically the combined results of all the testing, plus symptoms I experienced is what lead to the diagnosis. It was over a year before they really settled on the diagonsis, and then I went a couple years where the docs thought it was all a mistake and that i didn't really even have it. I know what you mean in regards to the flare. I was fine for 4 years, then had a flare and they gave me the boot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top