Should I Pursue and What Would I Get Rated

C

CPTJLC

PEB Forum Regular Member
Registered Member
I am relatively new to the world of MEB. As a matter of fact, I never thought of this as an option for me until my physician mentioned it to me today as an alternative to my other options (which I will cover below).

Background on myself is that I am a 29 year old CPT in the Army and I am a pilot. I have been diagnosed with the following conditions within the past year.
1. 2 x bulging and 2 x herniated discs in my lumbar spine which radiates down my right leg and causes numbness.
2. "Intra-Arterial Annular Disc Disease" which is basically a painful form of DDD.
3. 1 x bulging disc and bone spurs in the neck which are causing numbness down the right arm.
4. Cervial Spondylosis

I saw a neurosurgeon recently and he informed me that my neck does not need surgery yet, although the bone spurs are going to grow and I will eventually need a cervical fusion. For the time being he wants me to continue traction therapy and treatment with NSAIDS.

Secondly, he informed me that the only two treatments for my lumbar conditions are to either have epidural injections (which would only provide temporary relief and would not heal the problem with the Annular Disc Disease) or to have disc replacement surgery, which he says I will likely eventually have anyway.

The neurosurgeon also informed me that the three worst things I can do for this "disease" are running, situps, and sitting for long periods of time (pretty much my job as a pilot). He encouraged me to speak with the flight doctor today, which I did, and he informed me that taking the epidural injections would not be a solution to the permanent "disease" issue, and that being back in the aircraft (with the vibrations and associated gear requirements) would only accelerate my timeline to an eventual surgery. The flight surgeon then gave me a third option of not getting "back up" to fly and initiating an MEB. He told me to come back in a few weeks and let him know my decision (epidural, MEB, or surgery).

So, since this whole idea is new to me anyway, I am trying to understand what kind of a rating I could expect if I did take this to an MEB? Could I make it to the 30% required for retirement, or am I looking at a lesser rating? I have had multiple bouts (around 6-8) of back pain that has been severely limiting with 2 incidents requiring pain killer injections, grounded status, and profiles.

Any advice or feedback you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you need more information on the conditions to make a good judgement, let me know and I will be happy to offer up anything else I may have.
 
CPTJLC said:
I am relatively new to the world of MEB. As a matter of fact, I never thought of this as an option for me until my physician mentioned it to me today as an alternative to my other options (which I will cover below).

Background on myself is that I am a 29 year old CPT in the Army and I am a pilot. I have been diagnosed with the following conditions within the past year.
1. 2 x bulging and 2 x herniated discs in my lumbar spine which radiates down my right leg and causes numbness.
2. "Intra-Arterial Annular Disc Disease" which is basically a painful form of DDD.
3. 1 x bulging disc and bone spurs in the neck which are causing numbness down the right arm.
4. Cervial Spondylosis

I saw a neurosurgeon recently and he informed me that my neck does not need surgery yet, although the bone spurs are going to grow and I will eventually need a cervical fusion. For the time being he wants me to continue traction therapy and treatment with NSAIDS.

Secondly, he informed me that the only two treatments for my lumbar conditions are to either have epidural injections (which would only provide temporary relief and would not heal the problem with the Annular Disc Disease) or to have disc replacement surgery, which he says I will likely eventually have anyway.

The neurosurgeon also informed me that the three worst things I can do for this "disease" are running, situps, and sitting for long periods of time (pretty much my job as a pilot). He encouraged me to speak with the flight doctor today, which I did, and he informed me that taking the epidural injections would not be a solution to the permanent "disease" issue, and that being back in the aircraft (with the vibrations and associated gear requirements) would only accelerate my timeline to an eventual surgery. The flight surgeon then gave me a third option of not getting "back up" to fly and initiating an MEB. He told me to come back in a few weeks and let him know my decision (epidural, MEB, or surgery).

So, since this whole idea is new to me anyway, I am trying to understand what kind of a rating I could expect if I did take this to an MEB? Could I make it to the 30% required for retirement, or am I looking at a lesser rating? I have had multiple bouts (around 6-8) of back pain that has been severely limiting with 2 incidents requiring pain killer injections, grounded status, and profiles.

Any advice or feedback you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you need more information on the conditions to make a good judgement, let me know and I will be happy to offer up anything else I may have.
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_______________________________***:D*** Happy New Year! ***:D***________________________________

Welcome to the PEB Forum! :)

Indeed, it would seem that medical impairments involving the "thoracolumbar spine" and the "cervical spine" quite often result in a DoVA disability compensation rating via the Range of Motion (ROM) criteria (e.g., primarily the forward flexion measurement) "with or without symptoms such as pain (whether or not it radiates), stiffness, or aching in the area of the spine affected by residuals of injury or disease" as annotated in General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine of 38 CFR VASRD §4.71a Schedule of ratings—musculoskeletal system.

Moreover, if there exist medical evidence of any types of radiculopathy (e.g., sciatica, lumbar, cervical, thoracic) then a DoVA disability rating could potentially be awarded by the DoVA Rating Agency also. In your particular situation, a greater number of PEB-referred "unfit for duty" medical conditions shall potentially yield a better opportunity to have a DoD combined rating of 30% or more for a military disability retirement.

Nonetheless, since the DoD IDES MEB/PEB process is a performance-based system, one important factor is the impact of all medical conditions affecting the military service member's ability to "reasonably perform duties of his or her office, grade, rank or rating."

As such, I would offer that you thoroughly review the below websites in order to obtain a basic comprehension to assist your efforts while navigating thru the DoD IDES MEB/PEB process upon any potential referral and acceptance:
Thus, I quite often comment that "possessing well-informed knowledge is truly a powerful equalizer!"

Best Wishes!
 
Thanks Warrior. Like you said, I'm just trying to learn as much about this as possible and be armed with the most information I can if I do pursue.

Thanks again for your input!
 
CPTJLC said:
Thanks Warrior. Like you said, I'm just trying to learn as much about this as possible and be armed with the most information I can if I do pursue.

Thanks again for your input!
Click to expand...
Indeed, you are quite welcome! :) Take care! :cool:

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

Best Wishes!
 
CPTJLC said:
I am relatively new to the world of MEB. As a matter of fact, I never thought of this as an option for me until my physician mentioned it to me today as an alternative to my other options (which I will cover below).

Background on myself is that I am a 29 year old CPT in the Army and I am a pilot. I have been diagnosed with the following conditions within the past year.
1. 2 x bulging and 2 x herniated discs in my lumbar spine which radiates down my right leg and causes numbness.
2. "Intra-Arterial Annular Disc Disease" which is basically a painful form of DDD.
3. 1 x bulging disc and bone spurs in the neck which are causing numbness down the right arm.
4. Cervial Spondylosis

I saw a neurosurgeon recently and he informed me that my neck does not need surgery yet, although the bone spurs are going to grow and I will eventually need a cervical fusion. For the time being he wants me to continue traction therapy and treatment with NSAIDS.

Secondly, he informed me that the only two treatments for my lumbar conditions are to either have epidural injections (which would only provide temporary relief and would not heal the problem with the Annular Disc Disease) or to have disc replacement surgery, which he says I will likely eventually have anyway.

The neurosurgeon also informed me that the three worst things I can do for this "disease" are running, situps, and sitting for long periods of time (pretty much my job as a pilot). He encouraged me to speak with the flight doctor today, which I did, and he informed me that taking the epidural injections would not be a solution to the permanent "disease" issue, and that being back in the aircraft (with the vibrations and associated gear requirements) would only accelerate my timeline to an eventual surgery. The flight surgeon then gave me a third option of not getting "back up" to fly and initiating an MEB. He told me to come back in a few weeks and let him know my decision (epidural, MEB, or surgery).

So, since this whole idea is new to me anyway, I am trying to understand what kind of a rating I could expect if I did take this to an MEB? Could I make it to the 30% required for retirement, or am I looking at a lesser rating? I have had multiple bouts (around 6-8) of back pain that has been severely limiting with 2 incidents requiring pain killer injections, grounded status, and profiles.

Any advice or feedback you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you need more information on the conditions to make a good judgement, let me know and I will be happy to offer up anything else I may have.
Click to expand...

I was given similar choices also:
1) MEB and live with the symptoms for the rest of my life
2) Surgery, get better, and commission into AMEDD
3) Surgery, not get better, and get meb

I was recommended for immediate surgery by the neurosurgeon, and I chose MEB. In your case, it's possible to get 100% retirement for you. Here're your conditions:

1) Degenerative lumbar disease based on range on motion
2) Degenerative cervical disease based on range of motion
3) Leg radiculopathy
4) Arm radiculopathy

Do not underestimate the radiculopathy associated with the arm and leg. If you properly get your symptoms properly documented in ALTHA, you could possibly get 20-60% each based on the severity of your symptoms.
 
BornToKill said:
I was given similar choices also:
1) MEB and live with the symptoms for the rest of my life
2) Surgery, get better, and commission into AMEDD
3) Surgery, not get better, and get meb

I was recommended for immediate surgery by the neurosurgeon, and I chose MEB. In your case, it's possible to get 100% retirement for you. Here're your conditions:

1) Degenerative lumbar disease based on range on motion
2) Degenerative cervical disease based on range of motion
3) Leg radiculopathy
4) Arm radiculopathy

Do not underestimate the radiculopathy associated with the arm and leg. If you properly get your symptoms properly documented in ALTHA, you could possibly get 20-60% each based on the severity of your symptoms.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight, BornToKill. I have decided to do the MEB as well. I will go back next Monday to see my PCM and let him know that I chose that option. I think it is what is best for my long term health, instead of getting beat even more to death and facing the dis replacement.

Good to know about the % I could expect. The more folks I talk to, the more reasonable getting a medical retirement sounds.

Thanks again for sharing.
 
So i am in your boat as well. I am a nurse that works at the hospital from which i am getting MEBd out of. I know for a fact that foward flexion is pretty much how they are going to rate your back. if you bend 30-60 degrees it is a 20%rating. For anything less than 30 degrees of foward flexion its 40%. Radiculopathy does not do much, maybe 10% for each extremity. To get a high rating for that condition you pretty much have to lose total funtion of that extremity. I am currently awaiting my second surgery at a second location in my spine (L5-S1) first surgery at L3-L4 was a success. Hope this helps.
 
msardelich said:
So i am in your boat as well. I am a nurse that works at the hospital from which i am getting MEBd out of. I know for a fact that foward flexion is pretty much how they are going to rate your back. if you bend 30-60 degrees it is a 20%rating. For anything less than 30 degrees of foward flexion its 40%. Radiculopathy does not do much, maybe 10% for each extremity. To get a high rating for that condition you pretty much have to lose total funtion of that extremity. I am currently awaiting my second surgery at a second location in my spine (L5-S1) first surgery at L3-L4 was a success. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Normally, radiculopathy will be rated on loss of reflex, muscle atrophy, and symptoms such as tingling and pain. However, if your limb is paralyzed by nerve damage, it ranges from 40%-80% depending on the severity.
 
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