Staying In With Celiac

[allen48]

I was diagnosed with celiac in 2009, and given a P2 profile. I was told by a clinic OIC in 2011 I was P3 profile non-deployable because of the celiac, and sent through the M.E.B. process. The M.E.B. doctor, which was a civilian, and I was the first military celiac patient she had seen, changed my P3 to a P2, declared me deployable, and sent me back to service. I don't know what is going to happen now, but I'm glad I get to stay in. It seems weird that a military doc can declare you one thing, and a civilian doc can override the military doc. She claimed she could not find a reference to celiac in AR 40-501, so I guess it depends on who sees you as to which direction that will send you. Just thought I would share.

[ravenwoodglass]

You need to talk to your command and ask how they are going to feed you gluten free in the field. It could be rather dangerous to be in the middle of a mission and have to excuse yourself from the fight to go behind a bush. While not all celiacs are automatically discharged since celiac affects both physical and mental health most are not deployed into a battle zone.

[*Daniella*]

I understand your frustrations! I'm active duty Air Force and I've managed to stay in but I'm required to see a medical board every year. It seriously scares the heck out of me thinking this might be my last one until they finally decide to kick me out. I always tell the doctor what to put in my medical profile so there's no guessing.

[allen48]

I understand your frustrations! I'm active duty Air Force and I've managed to stay in but I'm required to see a medical board every year. It seriously scares the heck out of me thinking this might be my last one until they finally decide to kick me out. I always tell the doctor what to put in my medical profile so there's no guessing.

That is what worries me. I don't know if another doctor is going to override what this last doctor wrote, it feels like this noose around my neck just waiting for someone to tighten it. I'm glad you got to stay in. Are you deployable?