Welcome to the board, BPG.
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Originally Posted by bari1usmc
i am currently trying to find information on the plus and minus of medical retirement vs "sticking it out".
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The first thing you might want to do is to consult a JAG on the differences among a regular retirement, a few months/years on the Temporary Disability Retirement List, and a medical/disability retirement. There's also the strong possibility that you'll have a disability rating even if you make it to 20.
I don't remember off the top of my head, but Military.com's book "Your Military Advantage" may also have an explanation.
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Originally Posted by bari1usmc
I am trying to have a surgical procedure done on my back for disc replacement and they are talking about spinal fusion. i was reading that it instantly puts me on a medical retirement board provided i do not FULLY recover. I am trying to find an alternative to an actual fusion procedure but am finding that most surgeons who perform less evasive type surgeries do not accept any form of tricare.
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If there's disc damage then surgery might be the only choice. If there's a problem with vertebra alignment (no disc damage yet) and it's not getting better then there may be chiropractic or posture/physical therapy options. I've also learned a lot from Jolie Bookspan, whose blog you can search for back-related terms:
The Fitness Fixer - blog index
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Originally Posted by bari1usmc
They are pretty much "in it for the money". The new LSI (Laser Spine Institute) in Tampa does not accept anyone's insurance they just charge you 30,000 dollars for the procedure then overcharge any insurance that you may have then send you the difference so you can pay off the balance. Not really sure how that works other than it sounds shady.
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I'd hope that a legitimate group would be able to work with Tricare. I'd be especially scared of any U.S. firm that doesn't accept any insurance. But you could ask them to show you their evidence-based studies that their technique is better... what frequently happens is a limited number of small-population studies that may not be applicable to your situation.
Here's another suggestion: post your question on other discussion boards. You could try Military.com, but you may get better service from
http://Marines.togetherweserved.com/ . I can also recommend the disability advice of the posters at GruntsMilitary discussion board (
GruntsMilitary.com :: Index) but be aware that these guys have quite a few rough edges to them... even from the perspective of a Marine.
But setting aside the retirement questions for a minute, please take care of yourself. Please find the best medical advice you can get, and have that done regardless of whether you're expected to be fully qualified to return to duty. Don't risk a lesser approach, and don't end up in the hands of a quack, just because they're promising that you'll be fully restored to duty. There are many LIMDU alternatives to "100% worldwide deployable" and the Corps isn't exactly so overburdened with career Marines that they can afford to discard them. The medical-board process will attempt to find a way to get you to 20 or to do the right retirement by your medical prognosis.
By the way that Reserves recommendation is usually applicable to mental/emotional stress, not physical pain. But a Reserve friend of ours was so worried about his retirement eligibility that he took his ruptured disc to Germany for spinal-fusion surgery, avoided the physical-fitness tests for about nine months with doctor's notes, and has made what appears to be a full recovery. However I can't imagine the experience of asking Mom & Dad to check up on you in a German hospital and help you get back home. It's probably better to stick with a U.S. medical facility that takes Tricare.