Need Military Law Help

[mr_allen]

When I was in the New York Army National Guard during my six months basic training I developed tendinitis in both ankles from wearing combat boots. Being in excellent health, Fort Dix Hospital gave me Cortisone treatments in both ankles. Soon afterwards I was not feeling well and attributed it to the riggers of the training. Even when I finished my training I did not feel well for quite a while until I showing all the signs of diabetes, knowing of course of what they are now.
I am now in the process of trying to get VA benefits attributing my diabetes to the Cortisone and stress of the situation. I have been trying to find documents relating the effects of Cortisone and stress to either the onset or aggravation of diabetes. I also believe the Army had not found I was diabetic in their initial examination for induction as my discharge now reads" Not Qualified for Initial Enlistment" My question is how can I get military legal help. I am on a fixed income and can not afford expensive attorneys.
Respectively
Allen Grotsky
email add: [email protected]

 

[ellencee]

mr_allen

I do not believe that a short course of Cortisone caused you to have diabetes. I do not believe that the failure of the military to diagnose your diabetes during their initial physical work-up is a cause for action either. You are young and obviously did not have signs of diabetes when you were examined. Ask your current physician to compare todays lab values with those of your enlistment physical. I doubt you will see an elevated glucose or any other signs of diabetes.

I believe you had tendonitis from the combat boots, which are hell on the feet and ankes, and that you had diabetes 'in the making'.

Cortisone causes some short term problems, yes, but it would take years of cortisone treatment to damage the pancreas and cause diabetes; or maybe really high does of IV cortison for a shorter period could do it, but you didn't have that, so it's not an issue.

vrzirn is an MD and he can give you some really good facts on this, I'm sure. Post under the malpractice section, which is what you are alluding happened, and wait on vrzirn. He may answer you here, but I think the malpractice section is more appropriate.

editing note: I decided to come back and give you a little further explanation.

You may have had 'latent' diabetes, which means it was there, it just had not become visible or a problem to your health, yet. The increased caloric requirements to get your body through basic training and the vigorous exercise and physical requirements of those first six months placed upon your body, more likely than not, brought this disease from the latent stage to the active stage.

Often, people do not understand that the blood sugar goes up in a diabetic when not enough calories are consumed through meals and snacks and proper hydration. In times of increased caloric need for the body, in the absence of enough food intake, the body will get the energy it needs from fuel storages within the body. It will break down fat, convert the fat into glucose, and deliver the same through the blood's circulation. (hence the weight loss in the low-carb diet's method of fat loss).
In a diabetic, when this occurs, the glucose remains in the blood stream as there is not enough insulin to 'burn up' the glucose.

The physical demands placed upon your body exceeded your body's ability to deliver.

Think of the process as your needing to drive somewhere in your car. You completely filled the gas tank with gas, but when you got back in the car and turned the key, the ignition would not fire. The gas in the tank of your car is getting you no where unless that ignition fires and the combustion of the fuel begins.
Removing some of the gas from the tank won't get you moving, either. Your car must be able to burn the fuel in order to propel you to your destination.

I hope that helps with your understanding.