I started MEB(IDES) with thumb after surgery.

Hey guys
Every time thanks good information

I have questions.

I know that is kind of dumb question for you.

But I can’t understand.


I had surgery because there was a giant cell tumor in my thumb.
After surgery and finishing Occupational therapy,I still can’t do fine works (even oping water bottle ) with pain and tenderness and can’t hold and keep long time.

I started MEB in September with thumb.
I am still in C&P exams(I did mental, ear , and Lab / waiting for eye and generals) till January.

But, I have questions from here.

First, For PEB(For DOD rate), they gonna look through my whole medical records for DOD rate? Or just look through thumb?


Second, If they gonna look only thumb, can I ask or add more conditions?

After surgery, I got diagnosed same side shoulder impingement(already got 2 injections) ,whole low back, other side pelvic , and both knee. To be honest, I have lots of physical problems(hypertension, thyroid nodule, gerd,,,)



Thank you for reading and understanding My English.

Happy holidays
 
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You have already met with the MSC for the VA. He or She had you fill out a document with all of your medical conditions. Now the VA is having you go to C&P exams. Only conditions that do not meet medical retention standards AND cause you to not be able to do your job are unfitting. Usually only the referred condition is found unfit and that condition is what you have a profile limiting some of the things you can do. The military will look at all your medical conditions and that is the NARSUM but typically they will state that only the referred condition does not meet retention standards. If there were more conditions you believe cause you to not be able to do your job then the NARSUM stage would be the first time you can appeal. At this state you can request a IMR and or a rebuttal.

Youn need to look up the thumb condition for the VA and see what the possible ratings are and compare them to your symptoms to get an idea of what the VA will rate that condition. The DOD% is the same as the VA% as the DOD must use the VA's ratings. The main difference is that the VA will rate all conditions while the DOD% will only be for the conditions that you are found by the PEB to be unfit for duty. That is why most people's VA ratings are much higher than the DOD%. Joint issues typically have a very low VA rating so you may have issues trying to get your DOD% to 30% or higher to be medically retired.

You can have other conditions added as unfit but that is done by requesting a FPEB after getting your iPEB results. Things that can help your case is appealing at every step where the results do not list other unfit conditions. Ensuring that your commander's impact statement explains how that condition that you want to add hinders your ability to do your job. By now your commander already filled out an impact statement but you may be able to ask them to fill out another one. Also, ensure that you have a profile for any unfitting conditions that you want to add. This type of evidence will give you a better chance of adding an additional condition as unfitting.

As you can see some of these things like the commander's impact statement would have already happened but it's not too late. I am a strong believer in hiring a dedicated private attorney because being proactive, having a strategy and access to an attorney throughout the process gives you a better shot of getting the best outcome. i will send you a list of ones that only do IDES. My wife hired a private attorney and was very glad to know she had someone that was looking out for her best interest throughout the process. No one else has skin in the game but you, your family and a private dedicated attorney if you choose to hire one.

All of the advice above is pretty generic but should apply to you or anyone else that is new to IDES. How long have you been in? What is your brand of service and what is your job? Do you have a good relationship with your leadership? Once I know this information there may be more specific advice I can give you.
 
Provis said:
You have already met with the MSC for the VA. He or She had you fill out a document with all of your medical conditions. Now the VA is having you go to C&P exams. Only conditions that do not meet medical retention standards AND cause you to not be able to do your job are unfitting. Usually only the referred condition is found unfit and that condition is what you have a profile limiting some of the things you can do. The military will look at all your medical conditions and that is the NARSUM but typically they will state that only the referred condition does not meet retention standards. If there were more conditions you believe cause you to not be able to do your job then the NARSUM stage would be the first time you can appeal. At this state you can request a IMR and or a rebuttal.

Youn need to look up the thumb condition for the VA and see what the possible ratings are and compare them to your symptoms to get an idea of what the VA will rate that condition. The DOD% is the same as the VA% as the DOD must use the VA's ratings. The main difference is that the VA will rate all conditions while the DOD% will only be for the conditions that you are found by the PEB to be unfit for duty. That is why most people's VA ratings are much higher than the DOD%. Joint issues typically have a very low VA rating so you may have issues trying to get your DOD% to 30% or higher to be medically retired.

You can have other conditions added as unfit but that is done by requesting a FPEB after getting your iPEB results. Things that can help your case is appealing at every step where the results do not list other unfit conditions. Ensuring that your commander's impact statement explains how that condition that you want to add hinders your ability to do your job. By now your commander already filled out an impact statement but you may be able to ask them to fill out another one. Also, ensure that you have a profile for any unfitting conditions that you want to add. This type of evidence will give you a better chance of adding an additional condition as unfitting.

As you can see some of these things like the commander's impact statement would have already happened but it's not too late. I am a strong believer in hiring a dedicated private attorney because being proactive, having a strategy and access to an attorney throughout the process gives you a better shot of getting the best outcome. i will send you a list of ones that only do IDES. My wife hired a private attorney and was very glad to know she had someone that was looking out for her best interest throughout the process. No one else has skin in the game but you, your family and a private dedicated attorney if you choose to hire one.

All of the advice above is pretty generic but should apply to you or anyone else that is new to IDES. How long have you been in? What is your brand of service and what is your job? Do you have a good relationship with your leadership? Once I know this information there may be more specific advice I can give you.
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Thank you for your reply.

I have already been diagnosed with an Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed mood, Chronic with (Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity)

So, they(Dod) are going to check my mental condition too for unfit or fit?
 
Pko said:
Thank you for your reply.

I have already been diagnosed with an Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed mood, Chronic with (Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity)

So, they(Dod) are going to check my mental condition too for unfit or fit?
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typically only your referred condition is found unfit. If your mental health condition should be unfit you want to ensure your commanders impact statement says so, do rebuttals to NARSUM if that condition is listed as meets retention standards. Make sure you have an active profile due to mental health that create limitations to your duties and then you can try to add it at the FPEB which is the formal appeal to your iPEB.
 
Provis is 100% right here. Will share my experience here because it sounds like we were in a similar place.

I was referred for 1 thing. My back blew out a while back and ultimately led to a surgery.
After the C&P, you will have an opportunity to review your NARSUM(s) and discuss options from there. I felt that my MH should be added as a referred condition because it had been an ongoing issue for a long time, and realistically prevented me from doing the best I could in my job. I requested an Impartial Medical Review (IMR) stating that I felt that the MH needed to be added as a referred condition. What ended up happening was essentially they did a courtesy review prior to the IMR and stated that they agreed.

The reason that one would want to do this is to guard the DOD rating and get it above the 30% mark. Generally, my understanding is that the DOD will only look towards your referred condition(s) to determine the DOD rating.
 
could you explain about requesting an Impartial Medical Review? And How did you ask about that?
 
Pko said:
could you explain about requesting an Impartial Medical Review? And How did you ask about that?
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You will have an opportunity to do that when you meet with your DES attorney when your NARSUM is complete. Until then, you are just in a waiting game. It's unfortunate but it's just part of the process..
 
Jjw11255 said:
You will have an opportunity to do that when you meet with your DES attorney when your NARSUM is complete. Until then, you are just in a waiting game. It's unfortunate but it's just part of the process..
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First, thank you very much


1. does it extend your separation?
If it does, how long?

2. Can I ask other conditions at the requesting step?
 
Pko said:
First, thank you very much


1. does it extend your separation?
If it does, how long?

2. Can I ask other conditions at the requesting step?
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Anything that you do that is anything other than nodding your head and moving the process along is going to extend the process. How long? there is literally no way to know. As you look around these forums, you will see people in all different stages. There are so many factors in play for each individual case, it is impossible to know exact timelines ahead of time.
 
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Jjw11255 said:
Anything that you do that is anything other than nodding your head and moving the process along is going to extend the process. How long? there is literally no way to know. As you look around these forums, you will see people in all different stages. There are so many factors in play for each individual case, it is impossible to know exact timelines ahead of time.
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Thank you for the reply.
Si did you request IMR with a mental profile? I just take BH once in two weeks..
 
Pko said:
Thank you for the reply.
Si did you request IMR with a mental profile? I just take BH once in two weeks..
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I'm not sure what you mean "mental profile". I just had a MH diagnosis that the C&P made pretty clear it was ratable, so requested an IMR to have it added as a referred condition.
 
It is important to understand your service’s guidance on medical standards for continued service. You can find them on the resource tab of this website. The Informal PEB often rates only your referred condition. This is not IAW with DoD guidance. If the IPEB fails to rate all conditions mentioned in your services guidelines for non-retention then an appeal to the formal PEB is your next option.

The VA rates Service Connection, DoD based on medical non-retention standards.
 
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