Medical seperation?
Create Post
Results 1 to 12 of 12
  1. #1

    Medical seperation?

    I was sure where i should post this so i ended up here.

    Right now i am on limited Duty for a Peroneal nerve injury in my left leg. I pretty much can't/don't do any impact excersizes anymore and the non impact workouts i am doing are also starting to bring out the symptoms i experience IE: numbness and weakness.

    My particular problem has been going on since Feb of 2010 and pretty much a year later i feel like i have gotten nowhere with the medical system here on Camp Pendleton. I have asked recently for a second opinion and will be going to the Balboa hospital neurologist hopefully sometime soon.

    Also my squadron is supposed to be deploying sometime very soon in which i am pretty sure i will not be going.

    My question is what should i be doing to get some answers or to expedite this process? I have been in only a year and a half. What if any disibility would i rate? I dont want to get to far ahead of myself but i feel lost in this whole system.


  2. #2
    Can a MOD please move this to "Sick Bay Commandos"? Maybe i will get more attention there.


  3. #3
    Sounds like you'll have to just be patient. Peroneal nerve injuries take time to heal. You may ask about a cortisone shots when you go to Balboa. It will be something they could do. Don't worry too much about shipping out with your squadron; that may very well not happen. I spent a month on my back in the hospital in Okinawa, when I got back to my company most of the folks I had gotten there with had rotated out.

    If you can PT; then stay in as long as you can. If you get out you may always feel like you should have stayed in.

    As for medical rating, I have little to no idea. It would depend on what caused the injury, how severe is it, etc. One thing to note is that if you do get out on a medical the military will rate you low. When you go to the VA they will bump it up. To get it as high as you can enlist the help from the DAV. They are a nonprofit org that really goes to bat for us.

    Good Luck and Semper Fi!


  4. #4
    You've been in only a year and a half, give it some time. If you plan on retiring what's a couple of years compared to twenty. From what I've seen on other sites, disability doesn't pay a whole lot. I'm not an expert on disability so don't quote me on that. You're young still and have a lot of time left. Let medical do their job first and see where it goes from there. Like lonewolf said, don't make a hasty decision now you might regret later.


  5. #5
    You can trust the doctors at Balboa. The neurologists know what they are doing. At your age, most injuries heal.

    I am in college to be a chiropractor, and we have studied injuries like yours. How did you get injured? PM me if you want.

    I will keep a good thought for you, Semper Fi, Tom


  6. #6
    Phantom Blooper
    Guest Free Member
    I agree with ALL of the above.....

    However I would caution you not to start counting your chickens before they hatch.

    Wait until a doctor/specialist tells you that you are unfit for duty....not on limited duty and giveing yourself time to heal.

    When they tell you that you are unfit and recommend medical separation then your concerns will be more valid.

    Not meaning the concern is not valid....but until you are told otherwise continue to follow the sawbones guidances.

    Right now you are worrying about something that might be able to be controlled and healed properly allowing you to go back to full duty.

    In any event good luck to you.

    As far as the deployment goes the doctors should recommend a non deployable status and put you in a non deployable unit until a decision is made....

    Semper Fi!


  7. #7
    Thanks for all the responses above. My only real concern for my self is that this seems to be getting worse like happening sooner, non impact activites, sitting down and even going to the other foot (its only happened to the left foot/leg as of last month) I fear this has taken so long that to much damage has occured. But what do i know im not a doctor. I will be calling tomorrow to schedule my second opinion at Balboa.

    I am unsure exactly how i injured this nerve. Last strenuous activity i remember before it started boothering me was the O course in Pensacola.

    I cannot do any impact PT as it aggreavates my leg to a point where it goes numb from the tip of my toes to my knee in the left leg and tip of my toes to about the middle of my foot on my right leg. Even so riding the bike and elliptical is causing the same symptoms just not as bad if i were actually running.

    I have been to physical therepy, Orthopedics, sports medicine, pediatry and the Neurologist. Also physical therapy at the naval hospital where i did my nerve study.
    Ive done a bone scan, multiple x-rays and an MRI. Mostly they wanted to see if anything was rubbing or compressing the nerve but nothing has been found.

    First "diagnosis" was compartment syndrome, then a muscle strain in my calf then this last one Peroneal nerve injury.

    Please excuse me for my ranting.


  8. #8
    i was in the marines 1974 to 1984 the igot a medical out when i got out that was the worst day in my life the marines was the best years of my life


  9. #9
    I talked to my Neurologist a few weeks ago about MED SEP and she said it was to early to discuss. Coming from her "all options must be exhausted and i can't be getting better or any worse" for them to put me on a board. I also requested a second opinion down at Balboa where that neurologist suggested i stay out of my boots for the duration of my LIMDU period.

    So at first i was wearing my Cammies and "Go-Fasters" but then i was told to wear my running suit and "Go-Fasters" instead. I really feel usless in my shop and it's gotten me down quite a bit. I don't know really what i want to happen. I am moving squadrons in a couple of months but even then if this is still affecting me by the end of the year i will have to move again as this current squadron will be moving to Hawaii next year.


  10. #10
    Are you still PTing with the rest of your platoon? I know you aren't running, doing mtn climbers or jumping jacks; but are you doing everything else with them or are you being turned lose onto some other activity while the platoon PTs? If you can or/are doing hello dolly, sit ups, pushups, etc with the platoon, it will put you in a more favorable light and your moral will improve.

    If not then once you get set free in the evening head down to the gym, OR, in your room do everything you know that doesn't involve you leg. Your moral will improve.

    I had my knee crushed in a 5 ton roll over 14 years ago. I was out a year and 21 days later. Today I can still do everything that is on a standard PT test except the running. I begged the docs to cut the f'n leg off so I could just go on with some hardware; but for some unknown reason they figured I wanted it. I wonder if they would have now, knowing some of the folks that go on with missing limbs, if they would have granted me my wish.

    I do all my PT at home and inside. My entire routine takes no more than 30 minutes, so a bit faster than normal PT. If you need any hints on what to get or what to do PM me.

    Semper Fi!


  11. #11
    We dont have "shop" PT regularly but when we do i am usually at work. This was before my LIMDU status changed so know i can't do anything in the mornings. I havent been to the gym in a couple of weeks more due to long days and lack of motivation. I can say right now i am over my weight limit by about 7lbs but nothing to extreme. Any legs excersises kill me and its getting harder to walk as my foot is not allowing me the full range of motion. I have an appointment with Physical therapy next month to work on the loss of strength in my leg.


  12. #12
    If you are over your weight by 7 lbs, then it is something to worry about. Why are you riding the line like that? Sure you can drop 7 pounds by starving yourself for a day; but why not be at your weight limit and drop under it? Recently I peeled off 20 pounds of useless unmotivated fat. Doesn't seem like much to say it out loud; but it sure feels like a lot. 7 pounds is roughly 1 gallon of milk. Most people would say that's nothing. But what if you had to carry that gallon of milk everywhere, walking to the store, using the bathroom, standing at attention, etc., and were never able to put it down...what about if it were two? If you could figure out a way to drop 14 pounds you would be under your weight limit and feel a lot better. It would take some of the strain off your legs.

    This is what I do Mon, Wed and Fri; pushups, crunches, left side bends, right side bends, leg lifts, back extensions (with a ball), pull-ups (using an in the door system), and 4 free weight routines. The only thing I do using my legs, besides standing, is calf raises. If you want rep counts etc, PM me.

    The more you exercise the better you will fell. The way I look at it is I don't want to be that guy. You know the one who says his knee hurts so he can't exercise, so he get's fatter and because he's fatter his knee hurts. Eventually you'll have two stomachs hanging down and be in an electric wheel chair. Sounds drastic right? You are IN the Corps right now and you have somehow managed to exceed your own weight standard by 7 pounds! Let's say that was gained over a time period of half a year. 7 pounds multiplied by 2 for one full year is 14 pounds. In five years you'll be 70 pounds overweight. How much exercise do you think you'll want to do then? There is always a solution. If it hurts on the left find another technique, if you can't run then row...find a way. You can whine all you want; but ultimately it's up to you to get motivated again.

    Semper Fi!


Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not Create Posts
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts