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cryingbear

Third Class Petty Officers
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  1. Yes, I did. The VA is aware I am on SSDI but gave a 50% due to the c&p exam.
  2. Yes, I am in therapy. I am on a monthly injection of invega (almost same as risperidone).
  3. I was awarded SSDI from about 18 months out of active duty in 2006 for bipolar disorder.
  4. It is a anti-psychotic injection that I get monthly. It slowly releases medication over a period of a month. The medication is approved for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. My doctors diagnosed me with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
  5. I was given a 50% rating last year for my initial claim from 2012-2017 but appealed for a higher rating and TDIU. I have been on SSDI for more than 10 years for my mental condition. Here is the exam the rater based my rating on. Is it possible to get a higher rating and TDIU based on my SSDI and this examination?3 . Occupational and social impairmenta . Which of the following best summarizes the Veteran ' s level of occupational and social impairment with regards to all mental diagnoses? (Check onlyone)[X] Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity3 . SymptomsFor VA rating purposes , check all symptoms that actively apply to the Veteran ' s diagnoses :[X] Depressed mood[X] Chronic sleep impairment[X] Disturbances of motivation and mood[X] Difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships5 . Other symptomsDoes the Veteran have any other symptoms attributable to mental disordersthat are not listed above?[X] Yes [ ] NoIf yes , describe :The veteran has a very significant history of manic episodes with hyperactivity, increased energy , racing thoughts , significant agitation / anger with increased impulsivity , markedly decreased need for sleep . Such impulsivity in the past included aggression , picking fights .The patient also came to a point where he was psychotic , paranoid with delusions and some hallucinations . If the question is about occupational impairment regarding the schizoaffective/bipolar type, this examiner notes that this condition has been quite severe over the past few years , though the veteran has indicated he was not fully compliant with his treatment for a few years in recent times . However , over the last year or so , he has been much more stable and is on a monthly injection that helps ensure compliance . Treatment notes indicate improved stability . It is likely that he would manage some kind of basic employment given his current condition .Today, the veteran ' s memory appeared grossly intact . There are no current or recent problems with delusions or hallucinations . However , such symptoms have been quite prominent in the past . The veteran has a history of very significant paranoid delusions of being followed , receiving signals from God and messages in code from aliens because he sees papers on the floor . Such symptoms are not presently or recently occurring . There was a history of hallucinations including seeing lights he attributed to aliens . Again such symptoms are absent in recent times and this is corroborated by treatment notes . Medications seem to be keeping him quite stable now . The veteran also denied any suicidal or homicidal ideation . Again , in the past he has had suicidal and homicidal/aggressive thoughts and behaviors . Treatment notes and his presentation today and reports indicate this is not presently or recently occurring . There are no panic attacks and no OCD . He denied problems with anxiety (present in the past however) . He reports medications helped this . Mood does still fluctuate at times .
  6. What happened to your friend is what is wrong with the VA. They screw up and miss evidence that causes months and years of wait for veterans.
  7. I read somewhere that the average success rate for a DRO review is 2%, what is the point of waiting 2-3 years for a DRO review if it's going to be denied? If you DRO review was successful please reply.
  8. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder. They are the same thing. This is from a Mental DBQ and service records reviewed were listed.
  9. Anyone know a psychologist or a psychiatrist doing IMO/IME in Virginia?
  10. Is this opinion adequate for a nexus letter or does it not have enough rationale? His current mood disorder dx, Bipolar I Disorder, is related to active-service Major Depressive Disorder dx. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that manifests as major depressive episodes and/or hypo-manic/manic/mixed episodes. He was stable on Risperdal (Risperdal is FDA approved for manic episodes associated with Bipolar I Disorder) in active-service, unclear why a bipolar disorder dx was r/o and rx discontinued. Therefore, his mood disorder is etiologically related to his active-service and I agree with patient history/opinion in his C&P Mental Examination in 2012 which is consistent with our talks over 7-years of our sessions . I have been his psychiatric provider since August 2006 and have seen on a weekly to monthly basis since.
  11. The rater denied the claim because of no new&material evidence. Here is the rating for bipolar disorder: The evidence you submitted is not new and material. Therefore, your claim is not reopened . It is not material because it does not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim and/or does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim to show objective evidence of worsening of a pre-existing condition since this condition existed prior to service. The evidence does not show that your condition, which existed prior to service permanently worsened as a result of service. This is an examination that was not considered because there was no evidence of worsening: There is no evidence to support that the veteran: "clearly and unmistakably" was diagnosed with bipolar disorder prior to his military service. Based on this C & P Mental Health exam and on the veteran's claim and on the available medical evidence; his mood disorder only became evident when he was first treated at Travis AFB for Dysthymia (a form of minor depression). One month later this diagnosis was changed to Major Depression. Based on the above statement it can be said t.hat the veteran's mood disorder (bipolar disorder) was first manifested in the year 2004 when he began to have symptoms of depression and followed years later by having had a manic or mixed episode. The diagnosis of bipolar disorder cannot be made unless the person has one or more episodes of mania, hypomania or mixed in addition to having a history of recurrent major depressive episodes. It may take years for the full condition to develop. Therefore bipolar disorder is chronologically related to his time in the military. The examiner didn't use the language "at least as likely as not" but used "based on the above statement it can be said" and without the words "at least as likely as not" chronologically related to his time in the military, will opinion be okay for as new and material evidence and nexus requirement? I have a DRO review pending but believe they are going to rubber stamp the denial. However, I do not want to go to the BVA to be remanded for another exam because of the language used in the examination. There were no notes on my entrance exam so the presumption of soundness never applied either. What do you guys think?
  12. I had an examination done in 2012 for bipolar disorder. The rater asked if my pre-existing condition was aggravated by service but the examiner didn't find evidence that bipolar pre-existed service and instead gave this opinion: There is no evidence to support that the veteran: "cIearly and unmistakably" was diagnosed with bipolar disorder prior to his military service. Based on this C & P Mental Health exam and on the veteran's claim and on the available medical evidence; his mood disorder only became evident when he was first treated at Travis AFB for Dysthymia (a form of minor depression). One month later this diagnosis was changed to Major Depression. Based on the above statement it can be said t.hat the veteran's mood disorder (bipolar disorder) was first manifested in the year 2004 when he began to have symptoms of depression and followed years later by having had a manic or mixed episode. The diagnosis of bipolar disorder cannot be made unless the person has one or more episodes of mania, hypomania or mixed in addition to having a history of recurrent major depressive episodes. It may take years for the full condition to develop. Therefore bipolar disorder is chronologically related to his time in the military. The examiner didn't use the language "at least as likely as not" but used "based on the above statement it can be said" and stated without the words "at least as likely as not" chronologically related to his time in the military, will opinion be okay for a nexus requirement? The rater didn't reopen my claim because there was no evidence of aggravation and the examiner didn't give an opinion on aggravation. My claim is currently waiting DRO Review.
  13. Wonder if VA will recognize bipolar as a psychosis since DSM-V refers to it as affective psychosis.
  14. In my experience, good experienced psychiatrists (the ones who actually treat) don't usually diagnose separate disorders like anxiety states + bipolar disorder + schizophrenia + adjustment disorder + major depression. Once you are diagnosed with bipolar disorder, you can never be diagnosed with a depressive disorder again. If you experience symptoms that meet diagnosis for schizophrenia for at least 2-weeks, your diagnosis would change to schizophrenia, bipolar type. Unless you have some major anxiety disorder like PTSD, they usually will attribute your anxiety to symptoms of bipolar or schizophrenia. My psychiatrist keeps diagnoses as simple as possible so treatment won't be so complex. He made 2 correct diagnoses his first time evaluating me. The DOD and the VA gave me more than 10 different diagnoses and ruled out the 2 correct ones. How were you discharged and did you seek treatment in service? They probably misdiagnosed and gave you antidepressants which are known to cause manic episodes and rapid cycling making your bipolar permanently worse. There are FDA warning labels on every antidepressant to screen patients at risk for bipolar disorder. Even the DOD/VA warns about antidepressant use http://www.healthquality.va.gov/bd/bd_305_full.pdf
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