USAF-Vet

Yes, Buck52, this is my 1st claim. Have been told by other VA employee vets I work with that I will receive copies of my C&P's with my award letter whenever it decides to arrive. (last C&P was Jan. 20) Have already been set up with my 1st VA appointment, had lab testing done Wednesday morning and received my Benetravel checks yesterday along with all sorts of VA benefits booklets etc. Still no award letter or C&P exams LOL. Seems a bit backwards to me.

Buck52, I told the audiologist I had the sharp tones in both ears plus I have the background static noise all the time. I had a hard time hearing the low tones due to the static noise I have. I am ultra sensitive to the high pitch tones and loud noises. Still waiting for my packet to arrive with my official rating and C&P exams.

I'm still waiting for my C&P results from Jan. 2016. I did exactly what Buck stated and I was also denied SC for Tinnitus. I worked in a fighter engine shop at the end of the runway where the aircraft launched directly over head plus I also worked on cargo aircraft on the flight line. Will be including this with my NOD filing in a few months.

Rated Today. 70% for Anxiety disorder. 0% for my nose fracture with migraines as secondary. Won a battle, war continues. NOD going to be prepared.

Nose was badly fractured in 87. Surgery performed did not address fracture. Right side airway collapsed so had 2nd surgery feb. 2015 to rebreak, install new cartilage right side and end of nose to re-open airway. Was unable to breath for so many years i was not aware how serious the nose problem was until afb. Ent doctor informed me oct. 2014, prior to submitting this claim. Had mri on neck jan. 2015 which also revealed the level of fracuturing in nose, lack of airway and damaged neck which includes herniated c5/6 with bone spur at compensation point from initial injury that was getting worse all these years because you know motrin fixes everything. I believe this was done to contest my severe migraines that i was referred to another ent for who has ordered an mri w/contrast and referrred me to neuro doctor that specializes in headaches/migraines. Both ent's feel migraines are related to fracture. Ent who did my 2nd proceedure is deployed in afganistan at the moment. I already alerted rep. About this additional c&p so we will probably do nod if they want to dismiss all of the evidence they have which includes mri image of nose. The rest of my claim isn't in question so even if we have to fight over nose and migraines, my other issues should have larger ratings attached. As for my race horses, i am in partnership with 2 other disabled vets. 1 marine & 1 navy guy with our trainer at golden gate fields whose brother is standing up a wounded warrior retired racehorse project in eastern WA through funding provided by Jerry hollendorfer. My personal horse is being trained by a trainer who works with me much like other trainers around the country work with diabled people where riding is used as therapy. My horse responds to me much like a therapy dog. He takes care of me both physically and emotionally on the ground or on his back. Most of the time i just groom him or sit in a chair watching him graze. I need the break from people and the daily grind, otherwise i probably would just lie in bed waiting to die. My decision should be finished this next week. Will report back.

Still haven't been able to get my C&P results. My E-benefits status changed today: Pending Decision approval. However in My Healthy Vet, another C&P was conducted WITHOUT me or my MRI or 2nd surgery information included. I suspect a low ball is coming..... mtz-cpexam_1.pdf

Update: E-Benefits status changed. Now says: Pending Decision Approval So I went to My Healthy Vet and I discovered that another C&P "exam" was done without me present and only 3 things were reviewed. They did not review my MRI or the notes from my 2nd surgery on the nose because the first one never repaired the damage. Is this how they "low ball" or dismiss service connected conditions? mtz-cpexam_1.pdf

I sent a request to the VARO to get access to my C&P exams and they pointed me back to the Medical center which pointed me back to the VARO. I asked leadership about it last week and he suggested I contact the BDMS Service Chief. I also called My Healthy Vet and they were scratching their heads as to why I didn't have access to Vista Imaging since I'm an employee. I informed him because I am not a medical staff member so do not have the keys to view in that program. Soooooo......I wait. Will update when I finally see the dial change in Ebenefits. By my estimation with low balling %, I should be in the 80% range. My co-worker who had the same Mental health rater as I did said he believes I will be much higher. We'll see. Anything more than 10% will be gravy.

Still in "preparation for decision". Still can't see my C&P exam's. I called My Healthy Vet line last Thursday and they said the VARO essentially owns them until they mail the decision so they were confused as to why so many vets were able to see them under notes before the decisions were made. The guy agreed with me that they are nothing more than a physical exam and Vets should have access to them while awaiting a decision. He was going to look into it and see what could be done. My husband has been in "preparation for decision" for nearly 2 weeks as well. Maybe we'll find out this week what our ratings will be. Fingers crossed.

Yes, I did that. My husband did as well. There appears to be a policy issue in our region that prevents C&P reports from being made available via My Healthy Vet. It is coming from the VARO Oakland side. I am going to raise the question/issue with leadership today because I'm willing to bet they are not aware of it. From what I'm told, the VARO mails hard copies of the C&P's with the decision letter which as we all know is weeks after the exams are completed.

Still can't get my C&P results. Asked on Ebenefits and this is what I was told: "That is correct to receive a copy of the result; To request Exam result must be done in writing and to include your full name, complete SSN#, date the letter and your signature. Fax or Mail the request to the evidence Intake Center" WTH? I don't understand. How is everyone else getting their results in a few days via My Healthy Vet which I set up as a premium account per others instructions.

Seems most people are fortunate to see them so fast, however my area apparently isn't so efficient. My status changed this afternoon to "preparation for decision ". Still cant view my exam results but hopefully i will be rated soon.

My C&P Exams were conducted via the contractor MSLA on Jan. 11, 16 and 20th. The results were transmitted to VHA and uploaded per MyHealthyVet to Vista imaging. After making several contacts to see if I could get the results printed out for me, I have been informed that even though the results are in Vista (CPRS - VA medical records) I cannot have access to them until they are released from the VARO (Oakland). My anxiety is pinging since one of the reports is 47 pages and I want to read them. I have a congressional on my claim so I called my congressional aide and asked him if that is why I am not being allowed access to my reports. He believes the problem is an internal clerical type thing like we dealt with when we were retrieving my records from the Archive last summer. He is going to make an inquiry and see if I can be granted access to my reports. So, FYI if you're in the Bay area or if you're an employee like myself (our claims are reviewed in MN) we are not able to review our C&P results right away like everyone else seems to be able to do. When I inquired about finding the reports on MyHealthyVet last week, I was informed it typically takes 6 weeks to show up on there.

I completed my C&P on Jan. 11 which included migraines. I'm still waiting for the report to show up in My Healthy Vet. Comparing your results to my responses during my C&P, I believe I should receive a higher rating. Ebenefits shows "Gathering Evidence" as of yesterday afternoon so they must have all of my C&P exam results by now. I was sent for 3 C&P's for a variety of things. My PCM (Tri-care) has referred me to an ENT to review the severity of my Migraines and probably do an MRI. Congrats on your rating. Hopefully soon I will be rated.

2nd c&p completed jan. 16. Contractor stated that he was impressed with how detailed my records are. He said i was lucky and i should rate 50-70 for my anxiety/panic disorder. Msla (contractor) stated my jan. 11 exam was transmitted today. I upgraded myhealthy vet to premium but do not see the results yet. Will check tomorrow when we are all back to work.

Actually the fact that I am female, was active duty and the day after I separated became a dependant of active duty being treated in same medical facility is what caused the rejections. The individual that processed my claim didn't bother to look at my dd214 service dates and match those to my medical records. Oakland varo confirmed to me that is what happened.

Update: Completed 1st C&P Exam on Jan. 11. Going in for 2nd C&P this afternoon and last one is scheduled for Jan. 20. I do not see any results for the exams on my Ebenefits account. Will ask the contractor if my results were transmitted yet for Mondays exam when I go this afternoon.

If you haven't already done so, probably be a good idea to speak with your congressional rep. as well. File the NOD and follow other suggestions.

My husband has been attending group PTSD meetings each week held by the VA. The VA doctor makes notes for each of the group members. The notes go into the VA system which will support his PTSD Claim that we filed a couple of months ago. He also asked for increases since he was lowballed on his initial claim in 2010.

This is what my Ebenefits looks like today: pending_disabilities-12-15.docx

Thank you for the tips. Will review in more detail when I get home. My horse racing partner is a disabled marine and he is going to fax me his migraine report so I can make sure to include various terms etc. when I do my C&P. He has another marine buddy that is well versed who can help me once this portion is completed. The Comp. and Pen office called me last Thursday and she stated I haven't been denied anything I claimed for yet which is good. I was prompted to enter my bank account information into Ebenefits as well which is positive. I have packets set up for each of my C&P conditions already. My PCM suggested placing them into page protectors and putting them into a folder for easy review. I have read on this site about making notes for each condition (talking points) which I intend to do since I have memory lapses and struggle at times to complete a sentence depending on the severity of my migraines and/or anxiety. I suspect most of my issues are interrelated but have been treated as individual events all these years.

I am also pushing to get my herniated C5/6 included as well since I have nerve issues due to bone spur. I reached out to my chiropractor who is a USAF Veteran for a supporting document. My PCM referred me back to ENT for the supporting statement regarding my daily migraines since the doctor who did my surgery in Feb. is currently serving in Afganistan. I spoke with the clerks on Friday so they know what I need. My PCM flipped out when I told her what happens with my daily migraines and I think she referred me back to Neurology since when I take my meds I can't put together a coherent sentence for about an hour. She started wigging saying "you can't drive" and such. She prescribed a stronger medication to level out the peaks I get and another med to drop me back down if I'm having a peak. Who knows, sick of all these meds.

The VARO called me yesterday to let me know I would be set up for C&P Exams soon. The VSR said I could file my other things now as "new" and have all the exams done now rather than wait until later. I called DAV so they could put it in and my Rep. was out. I got the JERK guy who basically told me to do it myself. Which I did. Filed via E-benefits yesterday afternoon, uploaded necessary documents which VARO already has and it only took about 10 minutes.

UPDATE: Love letters do matter !! I wrote a 2nd letter last week to the VARO Oakland Director. This afternoon, I GOT A CALL from Kevin (VSR) at VARO Oakland !! He was giving me a heads up that my C&P Exams were being scheduled !!!!! O M G !!! I am getting: Hearing, Nose, Knee, Migraines He said I could also file (new) for my Anxiety/panic w/depression so they could get the exams all done now !! So I called my DAV rep. (he was out and the jerk was there). So I went onto E-benefits and filed the FDC myself and attached copies of the supporting documents (even though I know they have them). I also included Chronic colitis since why not...it's in my records and I'm still having weekly issues with it 28 years on. Now to sort through my copies and get them ready for my appointments !!!! Thanks for everyone's support !! Kevin admitted that the person who did my claim did in fact SCREW UP ! He said the person couldn't tell the difference between an Active and Dependent record since they look alike. DUH.....never thought to check the DATES I guess !

I have DAV rep. On my 3rd one since March 2015. They seem to have a huge case load, always off doing hearings, TAPS briefings etc. Very tough to get ahold of them. The current one does seem to have his stuff together and knows the regs. which is helpful for me.