Hey all, just referred to the MEB for back pain. Tried to stave off the inevitable for years, but here we are. I'm an active duty officer with 10 years in.
Episodes of severe back pain with symptoms in my legs are well documented back to 2014, I'd say about a dozen of them. I was rarely (once) profiled, though I did do rounds of physical therapy, different medications, etc.
Last year I had an episode and it just never went away. Did about six months of treatment with little relief until my doctor recommended an MEB. Being up for the MAJ board, I said no and went on another ~9 months trying to rehab it. I did experience a 4 month period of relief through a chiropractor and a new medication, but that fell off very quickly and the mental side effects are a tough trade off. So for the last 2 months I've been back in seeing the doctors, trying to figure it out, and pretty much came to terms with the fact that I'm not going to recover from this.
No idea what the behavioral health records say, but I've been seeing them for some not so great stuff for the last ~8 months, though the first time I sought help was two years ago.
Anyhow, my question is regarding expectations for the exam/unfitting condition. My ROM with my lumbar spine is really dependent on the day; there are days I can't move, and there are days I can. Current medication is still having some positive effect. The real issue that I believe warrants rating is the spine guarding. I started doing that years ago, and walk with what I consider to be an unnatural gait. That specific point is only reflected a few times in my record, and other encounters note a normal gait. It has gotten progressively worse over time. Just looking for thoughts on this.
For my legs, I don't really know how they determine severe/moderate/mild. I would love to cut my right leg off given the pain that it causes me. My left leg is more of a 'buzzing' or just numb. MRI shows stenosis in the lumbar spine pressing on the nerves. I'm worried because most of this stuff is not documented in a profile. The only two I ever had just said low back pain. Even the one now just says low back pain. The symptoms are there, documented to differing degrees by different doctors over the years. It's just worrying not knowing how this exam will go and what evidence will be given what weight.
My last question- the doctor did not adjust my profile to a P3 when he referred me to IDES. He didn't adjust it all despite my complaints of progressing symptoms.
Hope you're all doing alright. Thanks!
Episodes of severe back pain with symptoms in my legs are well documented back to 2014, I'd say about a dozen of them. I was rarely (once) profiled, though I did do rounds of physical therapy, different medications, etc.
Last year I had an episode and it just never went away. Did about six months of treatment with little relief until my doctor recommended an MEB. Being up for the MAJ board, I said no and went on another ~9 months trying to rehab it. I did experience a 4 month period of relief through a chiropractor and a new medication, but that fell off very quickly and the mental side effects are a tough trade off. So for the last 2 months I've been back in seeing the doctors, trying to figure it out, and pretty much came to terms with the fact that I'm not going to recover from this.
No idea what the behavioral health records say, but I've been seeing them for some not so great stuff for the last ~8 months, though the first time I sought help was two years ago.
Anyhow, my question is regarding expectations for the exam/unfitting condition. My ROM with my lumbar spine is really dependent on the day; there are days I can't move, and there are days I can. Current medication is still having some positive effect. The real issue that I believe warrants rating is the spine guarding. I started doing that years ago, and walk with what I consider to be an unnatural gait. That specific point is only reflected a few times in my record, and other encounters note a normal gait. It has gotten progressively worse over time. Just looking for thoughts on this.
For my legs, I don't really know how they determine severe/moderate/mild. I would love to cut my right leg off given the pain that it causes me. My left leg is more of a 'buzzing' or just numb. MRI shows stenosis in the lumbar spine pressing on the nerves. I'm worried because most of this stuff is not documented in a profile. The only two I ever had just said low back pain. Even the one now just says low back pain. The symptoms are there, documented to differing degrees by different doctors over the years. It's just worrying not knowing how this exam will go and what evidence will be given what weight.
My last question- the doctor did not adjust my profile to a P3 when he referred me to IDES. He didn't adjust it all despite my complaints of progressing symptoms.
Hope you're all doing alright. Thanks!