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Celiac In The Military

gaingus

By gaingus
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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gaingus Rookie
gaingus
Posted

I am wondering if there are any service members from the U.S. Military that haven't been discharged. I can find many stories of people that have gotten out because of it. I want to know of anyone that has successfully stayed in with it.

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ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

There have been a couple that I remember seeing over the years that were able to stay in. You may want to do a board search with the words military and celiac to see if you can find the past posts. If memory served they were well established in their careers at diagnosis and did not have jobs that required them to be in the field living on MREs. A celiac diagnosis as far as I know would prevent you from joining in most cases.

*Daniella* Apprentice
*Daniella*
Posted

Hi!

I am a diagnosed celiac in the Air Force. I was diagnosed about 7 months ago and went to a medical board to decide my fate. The Air Force decided to keep me in the military however, I am no longer able to deploy to war zones. That doesn't mean I can't deploy at all, it means I have to be more careful about the places they send me. I've been in the AF for 12 years and I know the next 8 will be difficult trying to get the military to understand my needs involving the entire celiac lifestyle. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

psawyer Proficient
psawyer
Posted
Here is a link to a discussion about celiac and military service. It is old, but is probably still relevant.
gaingus Rookie
gaingus
Posted
  • Author

I can say that this is not easy. Thank you for the help so far. I have been in the Navy for almost fourteen years and I want to finish my 20 and retire. Unfortunately, the biggest issue I am running into, is I am not deployable at all. The Navy went away from actually cooking meals not too long ago. We now get a lot more heat and serve frozen meals. Unfortunately, gluten is used as a long term frozen food preservative. I've been in long enough that I can easily be an instructor, it is just trying to be placed on permanent shore duty. I will try to keep everyone informed through here (I know there are many of us). My gastro doc is going to help preserve my career, it is up to higher ups to make the ultimate decision.

*Daniella* Apprentice
*Daniella*
Posted

I will keep you in my thoughts because I know exactly how you feel. I will have another medical board in a few months. This is going to be an annual occurance. I will be on pins and needles every year trying to keep my career in tact also. Please keep us informed with your status. Like I said before let me know if you want to chat. I'll give you my military celiac support. :)

gaingus Rookie
gaingus
Posted
  • Author
I will keep you in my thoughts because I know exactly how you feel. I will have another medical board in a few months. This is going to be an annual occurance. I will be on pins and needles every year trying to keep my career in tact also. Please keep us informed with your status. Like I said before let me know if you want to chat. I'll give you my military celiac support. :)

Good luck on your next board. I am still waiting to hear on when I will have an actual board. I am only on the first period of limited duty (less than 6 months) and about to go on my second (6 months to 1 year). I really don't like the hurry up and wait that we have to go through. I don't know how long I am going to stay in, I don't know if I am going to have to move soon or not. It sucks how unpredictable it is. I will keep you in my thoughts as well. I really appreciate the support. :D

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  • 1 month later...
Jaime A Newbie
Jaime A
Posted
Hi!

I am a diagnosed celiac in the Air Force. I was diagnosed about 7 months ago and went to a medical board to decide my fate. The Air Force decided to keep me in the military however, I am no longer able to deploy to war zones. That doesn't mean I can't deploy at all, it means I have to be more careful about the places they send me. I've been in the AF for 12 years and I know the next 8 will be difficult trying to get the military to understand my needs involving the entire celiac lifestyle. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Hi Daniella,

I'm going through a similar situation and I'd like to contact you but i'd like to do it through personal email. I've been trying to send you a personal message but it won't allow it to go through. Is there any way that you can contact me? Can you try to send me a message?

  • 5 months later...
gaingus Rookie
gaingus
Posted
  • Author

Wow, it's been a while since I have updated on this one. For those that have been wondering, I have been cleared "fit for duty". This will get me to the point where I can be medically retired. Good thing is that I am on shore duty and I can control what I eat fairly easily. Sea duty will be an interesting challenge and I will figure it out from there.

  • 1 year later...
jsltrumpet Newbie
jsltrumpet
Posted

I am nervously awaiting my fate as my Med Board in the AF is being evaluated as we speak. I really have NO idea what the final decision will be. How long did it take you guys to find out? This is really hard.

silk Contributor
silk
Posted

My husband was in the military when we were married 33 years ago tomorrow. Having only been diagnosed with this 4 years ago, I did not consider how difficult this issue would be for 'our kind :blink:" as he left the service more than 20 years ago. My heart goes out to all of you. I have dined on the lovely MRE's. They are the most delicious, imaginative use of cardboard I have ever tasted! However, I am quite sure that that cardboard was not grown in dedicated, gluten free fields! :lol: It is amazing to me how we can not force someone out of the military for their religious convictions or sexual orientation (I am fine with that and not starting a political discussion here) but that your career could hang in the balance because of a digestive issue. Wow! We can develop night vision glasses but we can't figure out how to feed one in every 133 people who serve our country but can't ingest toxic cardboard? Life is a mystery! God Bless America!

*Daniella* Apprentice
*Daniella*
Posted

I am nervously awaiting my fate as my Med Board in the AF is being evaluated as we speak. I really have NO idea what the final decision will be. How long did it take you guys to find out? This is really hard.

It only took a few months for my medical board results to come back (I was in the middle of a PCS so it was quicker than normal). If it's taking long time maybe you can contact your medical admin and see what the status is. I know the initial board goes to HQ to determine your fate. In addition to the initial board you will go through an annual board called a RILO to insure your health status hasn't changed. That approval only takes about a month.

  • 6 years later...
Christian alexander Newbie
Christian alexander
Posted

For the people that been  diagnosed with celiac diseased and med board, when you got out of the army did you get and disability I've been in the army for 6 years and this has been my family's income for the 6 years, so what assistants have you guys been given???

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