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James123

Seaman
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About James123

Previous Fields

  • Service Connected Disability
    100%
  • Branch of Service
    Army
  • Hobby
    Computers

James123's Achievements

  1. Its not all that Odd to not have to go to to a C&P exam. It simply means there is enough medical evidence for them to come to a decision with out bringing you in.
  2. Green, Its been such a hard battle getting my 100% combined with the stress and battles at work has taken a toll on me. I would need to seek out assistance for to fight on. My Rep thinks i have a snowballs chance in hell of getting it back dated. Since I was not actually DX with me at that time by anyone. When the Philly VA hospital said my scans where all clear, it stopped all monitoring till years later when i had a massive flair up. Rootbeer, Getting 100% can be a long and mind numbing process. They kept short changing me, so this time I threw in a secondary based off a 25 year old disability. One I had ample evidence to prove. that got me 30% pushing me up over the 95% VA math rating. Keep on em. Best of luck.
  3. Well, My battle to 100% total disability is finally at an end. I was told by my Rep I should get my letter next week. We have a couple more things to do to get T&P. But that's just a matter of getting letters from my Doctors. As far as the work situation goes, They want me gone. I fought to stay working, so they changed my roles and responsibilities to put me in situations they know I cant do. So they can fire me for poor performance. They gave me a choice go out on disability or be fired in June. May as well eat their 6 months of short term while I look for a new job.
  4. Another thing is the "its most likely as not" statements actually not a good thing, but with your other evidence it may not matter. Its as likely as not means 50/50. The VA wants over 50 so it can go either way. My sleep apnea was an "its most likely as not" evaluation but because I had none of the normal risk factors that would cause it other than my MS, they gave it to me.
  5. The Dr that evaluates you is not the rater. He only gives an assessment to what the VA asks him to consider. He will have any medical records that pertain to the disability but has no access to any other evaluations. The VA decides your % on your claim. The rater will have all evidence gathered to consider. Metal health ratings look like this. But there are a lot of factors considered to get to these points: 100% rating: Completely unable to function socially or at work with symptoms such as severely inappropriate behavior, ongoing hallucinations or delusions, consistent threat of harming self or others, unable to remember basic information such as names of close relatives, severe confusion and disorientation, and/or inability to care for self. 70% rating: Unable to function in most social and work areas with symptoms such as obsessive behaviors, illogical speech, depression and panic so persistent that it interferes with ability to function, suicidal thinking, inability to control impulses (including becoming violent without provocation), neglecting self-care such as hygiene, inability to handle stress, and/or inability to maintain relationships. 50% rating: Some impairment in ability to function socially and at work with lack of reliability and productivity, due to symptoms such as trouble understanding, memory loss (forgetting to do things), poor judgment, mood disturbances, trouble with work and social relationships, and/or having one or more panic attacks weekly. 30% rating: Some trouble functioning socially and at work, occasionally inefficient with work or unable to perform work tasks, but generally able to care of self and speak normally. Symptoms can include depression, anxiety, chronic difficulty sleeping, mild memory loss, suspiciousness, and panic attacks (can be less than once a week). 10% rating: Mild symptoms creating work and social impairment when under significant stress, or mild symptoms managed successfully with continuous medication. 0% rating: Diagnosis of mental illness but symptoms are so mild that they don’t require continuous medication, or, don’t interfere with social and work functioning.
  6. Asking about your childhood is one of the basic questions in a Psyc. Exam. Don't think more into it then is worth. Him telling you to make an appointment with the VA Psychologist, that's a hint. His evaluation followed by a VA Psychologist diagnosis and treatment can help you both mental health wise and with your claim.
  7. I am hoping i will not need to do SSDI and can hold off till retirement. While i have a lot of pretty severe issues, the company I am working for is working with their Dr's to provide me with a safe environment to work in. While I am not sure what the exact are, they currently have been working from the office and some times from home rather than out in the field. It's been like this for a few months now. I make a good living and I am grateful that they are more interested in keeping me rather than finding a way to let me go. If I was stuck in the house all the time, i think i would loose my mind. Thanks for all the well wishes!
  8. Because of the pure number of disabilities I have posting them as a sig would be ridiculous. I started my MS battle shortly after I was diagnosed 3 years ago, I was diagnosed with its symptoms almost 25 years ago after I got out so I was able to make service connection requirements. I started out at 30% disabled at the beginning, then fought to 40% a few years back because of my hips. MS got me to 70%, but my VSO had no secondaries and told me not to file them till after i was rated for MS. I filed my secondaries myself and am now at 90% (93.165%) The claim is partially awarded but has 4 more pending claims. The rater actually called me and told me they are pulling the original MRI's and medical records from 25 years ago to see if all the original decisions and dates are rated and set correctly including the MS rating and date. It's a big step forward, now I have to fight the last few inches, Just waiting for the results. tinnitus 10% voiding dysfunction secondary to multiple sclerosis 20% cervical spine strain 10% low back strain 10% bowel function impairment secondary to multiple sclerosis 10% right lower extremity impairment secondary to multiple sclerosis 10% right upper extremity impairment secondary to multiple sclerosis 10% degenerative arthritis of right hip joint 10% multiple sclerosis 30% adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood 30% left upper extremity impairment secondary to multiple sclerosis 10% left lower extremity impairment secondary to multiple sclerosis 10% multiple sclerosis with sleep apnea 50% left hip joint degenerative arthritis 10%
  9. Most likely this is the scenario. They rated your disabilities with what evidence they currently had, This may or may not be the final rating. They are likely still gathering evidence to determine if any of the ratings should be higher. Your claim is likely back in gathering evidence right now if you look at open claims. It will have a new completion date as well. I assume that they do this to be able to give you an award to help satisfy some claim backlog requirements and still not completely close out your claim as they gather evidence to perhaps increase the rating. You will get a decision letter, and it will explain if the rating is still in progress or if it is a final rating. I just got my last one this month and it was the same as you are describing. The letter will explain what ratings may still be in the works.
  10. I had no explanation as to why i had numbing in the body parts, but my medical history (military records) showed i had episodes of numbing and tingling issues dating back to 1987. I claimed upper and lower back because thats all i could figure it was and predominantly the left side the same side i lost all feeling too in June..The knees well they are just tore up as are the hips, hearing is from 50 cal gun fire i likely have loss of hearing some what too (my wife calls it selective hearing, i hear what i want to hear) but never claimed it never got it.
  11. I am already 10% knees 10% hips 10% upper back 10% lower back 10% ears for a total of 40% SCD. I have not even started the claim process on the MS that's how new it is, My biggest concern is if it gets worse. According the the documentation on the VA official website, here is what they say. The VA does not state anything about being diagnosed or 10%.It says symptoms of MS, but it also says MAY. So its a catch 22. http://www4.va.gov/MS/articles/Health_Care_Benefits_for_Veterans_with_Multiple_Sclerosis.asp I it will defiantly maybe be rated as a SC. I might even be able or not to receive back pay or have my benefits increased or reduced. So as all things .. its as clear as mud. (This entire line was a joke not an anger issue lol) Thanks for all your feedback folks. James
  12. When i say documented signs, i mean its says in my MRI's and spinal taps indicated damage in the brain and spinal cord that could possibility be MS, not just the symptoms. They never gave me a rating on it, cause they don't give you anything if you din't ask for it back then and i had no idea what demyelinating disease of the central nervous system even meant or if i could claim it, That's what they diagnosed me with in 91 during my C&P exams but i never knew to claim it and they did not give it. there was not a lot of help with claims back then. However, I was undergoing every 6 month full body and brain MRI evaluations for it the entire time i lived in Wisconsin as they monitored for changes so they COULD diagnose and start treatment. I was being taken care of so it never crossed my mind to claim it. Its when i moved to Philadelphia i started to think i should see how to go about claiming it, but Suddenly I was fine... nothing to see here... move along ... The Dr is Wisconsin don't know what they are talking about is the kinda thing I got from the VA hospital, they did not have time for me i guess. took 9 months just to get that appointment too. Move up to June 2013, My last episode made half my body completely numb on the left side, literally split down the center from the shoulders down. The VA DR here said "You just have knots in your back, have your wife give you a massage. " The Dr even noted that in my medical records ... then when things got worse the dr tried to send me to physical therapy. The therapist was like.. "what am i supposed to do with him." Finally after raising my voice in anger the Dr gave me steroids and set me up for an MRI. then allllllll the new information just poured right on in and an entire medicine cabinet for of new meds, supplements and needles.. The VA scares me some times it really does. As far as what i claimed , i am not a Dr i claimed best guess, i had numbing and tingling in my arms and legs, i figured had to be upper and lower back, and that they gave. so i don't know if i have a chance at back pay or not but clearly its SC at any rate, well in my eyes anyway. The plus side is, even though my left arm never fully recovered and i am in pain all the time now, i am still working, its rough at times, i am drained, worn out but i refuse to stop working on the grounds that i need to eat so there you have it. Here is a couple of snip its from the MRI back then. So suddenly i was fine as per Philly... so i really could not file for it then...
  13. I successfully got 30% disability back in 1992 ish after filing in 1991, I had filed for an increase a couple years ago and was granted another 10%. Now i just been hit with a big time issue that explains my medical history and issues everything all the way back to 87 when i was in the military. The VA recently diagnosed me with MS. They originally saw the signs in my MRI's they took for C&P and documented it back then as suspected MS. Now some 20+ Years later they have come to the conclusion that I do have MS and are starting me on treatments. Mt VA neurologist told me that it is SC and it should raise my disability to 100%. If it is SC and was originally seen in 91 but not diagnosed conclusively till now (MS is a difficult disease to diagnose) If it is granted as SC will i receive back pay to the original file date or will they consider it a new claim?
  14. I got out in 91 with an honorable discharge. Through out my 8 year military service i had issues with my arms and legs going numb and tingling. I have copies of my old military records as well. I filed for upper and lower back issues because what else could it be??! was my thinking. I initially did my C&P in Madison Wi where they did a full body MRI and found signs of MS.They did scans and spinal taps every 6 months to monitor for changes. In the mean time i was awarded 10% upper and 10% lower back compensations due to the tingling in my extremities. I moved to Philadelphia where miraculously they found no signs of what the VA hospital in Wisconsin was monitoring so the monitoring stopped for ohh 18 years or so. This year after a massive episode where half my body literally lost all feeling, the VA Hospital in Texas did MRI's and seen exactly what the VA hospital in Wisconsin was Plus more. They have Diagnosed me with MS. My VA Neurologist said you showed documented signs of it in your C&P exams in 91 so it is service connected and that its should raise me to 100% SC. My question is will i get back pay to 91 at 100% if they award it?
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