Medical discharge, or permanent profile?

2015-04-02T00:21:35-04:00

Recently I have had the misfortune to have congestive heart failure, and upon further investigation doctors discovered I would need a heart transplant.
Being a lively 22 year old soldier, this comes to me as a major blow to my military career. What is the possible likelihood of being retained with such a condition?

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Apr 2 at 2015 12:25 AM

2015-04-02T00:25:34-04:00

I got nothing. Try to stay in as long as you can.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 2 at 2015 4:38 AM

2015-04-02T04:38:33-04:00

I am sorry to hear about your misfortune and I wish you the best of luck and a speedy recovery. Stay positive and motivated and you will thrive!

I am not a doctor but my guess would be that the Army will medically retire you but I could be wrong. Discuss with your doctor and the chain of command, they will be able to give you the answers and support much better than us here on RallyPoint!

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 2 at 2015 5:15 AM

2015-04-02T05:15:03-04:00

Alex, that really sucks and I'm sorry you're going through this. I don't know the answer to your question, but here's an awesome story that gave me hope when I began having heart problems. It's an article titled, "Even a heart transplant won't stand in a Soldier's way."

http://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Even-a-heart-transplant-won-t-stand-in-soldier-s-1555099.php

Response by PO1 John Miller made Apr 2 at 2015 5:44 AM

2015-04-02T05:44:42-04:00

I would have to say Medical Retirement. That's just my opinion though, I wasn't a Corpsman, Doctor, or that type of decision maker. I'm just a guy who served 20 years and has been around the block a few times.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 2 at 2015 1:40 PM

2015-04-02T13:40:28-04:00

My father has CHF, since the heart acts as a pump, it takes blood from the lungs to the body where it's needed, fluid will collect in your lungs and interstitial space, watch your weight like a hawk, even a fee ozs of gain are suggestive of fluid retention....further straining the pump. Your liver and kidneys needs a constant pressure, which the heart can no longer supply....so be careful with your meds and titrated quickly if thinks go south....get on a heart transplant list asap....do not abuse any kind of drug, especially weed or street drugs, because they test you and if found positive will take you off the list.

You are very young to have this conditiin, if I were in your place, I'd take the medical retirement so you have benefits for the rest of your life. There is some stem cell injections you can get overseas, which may help, but they do not do that procedure here in the US. Collect your retirement and move on, is what I recommend. You can always start a Contractor business and go back to war on your own later in life if you enjoy the life in uniform....unfortunately the service will see your condition as progressively getting worse, and unfortunately again, a liability.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 2 at 2015 2:00 PM

2015-04-02T14:00:53-04:00

It seems you want to stay in, and if it were up to me as long as you were still capable of performing your job you could. However, with the liability this would put on the military and the fact that they seem to be looking for reasons to get rid of people, I hate to say chances are high at the medical discharge.

On a good note... you should get disability for the rest of your life, and will most likely be medically covered for your condition.

Response by PFC Jonathan Albano made Feb 19 at 2017 6:02 AM

2017-02-19T06:02:21-05:00

Fort Couch will probably be your next duty station. I'm not a doctor, however, I do know that heart conditions take a while to recover from. It's not unheard of for patients with heart problems to still be having issues after six years. Here's to hoping I'm wrong.