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ATCJen

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About ATCJen

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  1. It's been awhile since I'be been on this site and I just saw your post where you received 100% and wanted to say congratulations. I too am 100% for MST and was also in the Navy. I know it's been a little while since you got the 100% and wanted to see how you were doing with it. What I mean is that it's good that we got 100% cuz we deserve it because of our symptoms and what had happened. But it is hard for me to say that I am a disabled vet because 1. I feel bad for all those who didn't get processed and win claims so I guess I have some sort of "winner guilt" which it isn't about being a winner, but rather winning in the VA system. and 2. When I tell people that I was in the NAVY they don't see how as a female I could be 100% disabled. Do you have these thoughts? Or is it just me? Never knew someone else that got 100% so I am asking you, because your the first person I've been able to talk about it to. Anyhow, congratulations again and sorry if I am asking to personal of questions...

  2. @flores97 @HorizontalMike @pete992 Thank you for the input. in your experiences, do you all think opting for the DRO route still supports the decision to hire a lawyer? Its what I am considering over the traditional appellate review process. For some reason I feel it will be "easier" that way in my circumstance. Maybe I'm wrong. Help me figure it out, please? Here's my "circumstance": My husband is active duty and we will be PCSing to god-knows-where in about a month and a half. It's either WA, CA, or VA. He's an aviator and they get orders at the last imaginable minute. I know I have to update my addresses with both the benefits and medical sides of the VA as soon as I move. I also know I have to register at the new VAMC. What I don't know is what this will mean for this appeal. Does it mean anything at all? Will it just "transfer" to the new VARO once I'm in the new system? Should these circumstances affect my decision to choose a DRO?
  3. Thank you! I feel like the paperwork is nothing i can't handle. The part about the EAJA I did not know, so thank you so much for that @pete992
  4. ^^^^ Good advice here. It's how I got an increase (10%-50%) and permanent status for migraines. FDC with a DBQ filled out by your doc.
  5. Hello, Shipmates. I am beginning this NOD journey this week and I am wondering what experiences you guys have with lawyers that specialize in VA claims and appeals? Mainly, I am wondering what a lawyer can do for me that I can't do myself? Can they get me through the process quicker? What exactly can they do? Off hand I want to say "not much" other than fill out the paperwork and file on my behalf, but what good does that do me? I have my wits about myself and I'm able to fill out the paperwork, gather evidence, etc. I've always opted to act pro-se as much as possible. I handled my own divorce, my children's name changes (10X more complicated than a divorce, believe it or not) Am I being shortsighted? 4 years of 100% back pay is substantial and I wouldn't mind paying a lawyer if they actually helped me with something I could never do myself. Does any one have any experiences they can share with me? Background: I won a claim 100% scd for MST/PTSD and that was half the battle. The other half is that the VA closed my original claim for this 4 years ago without ever notifying me. I'm filing for the original 2011 ED. They claim I WAS notified but i moved or ignored them because their mail had returned to them unopened and that they tried calling me ONCE and my phone was disconnected. I have proof to the contrary of both of their statements which I submitted for their review along with my ptsd/mst evidence. They ignored it. Now I have to fight this.
  6. Thank you so much! Looks like I have some reading to do @ketchup56 I truly appreciate the gouge.
  7. Hello! I'd like to thank my buddies in the MST forum for the support and help fighting this uphill battle with the VA. I originally filed 12/2011 for this disability and the VA closed my case without notifying me at all, about 45 days later. They said they "tried" to advise me of this case being closed but my phone was disconnected and that i sent their letters back to them unopened. Both of those things are simply not true. I waited for 4 years like a fool thinking this claim was in the backlog but come to find out they closed it. I had it reopened, but the "new" effective date was 2/2015, over 4 years after the original claim was opened. It took me months to re-gather evidence and get expert opinions and my nexus letter from a therapist 10/2015 I turned in all the evidence I had. (Nexus, buddy letter, statements of evidence, statement of MST) 12/2015 I had C&P with a civilian provider. 1/2016 I am rated 100% with housebound SMC for this disability alone. Although I included a statement requesting the original effective date and provided evidence that my phone was not disconnected and that I was in constant reliable communication with the VA at the time they closed my case, they denied my request. In fact, they overlooked my upload of this info so it seems. SO the fight continues, and I'll fight to my last breath for this. 4 years of 100% back pay is a lot and I will not turn my back on this. I am filling out my NOD and sending it in this week. I'll update you guys in like 8 years when this is settled. lmao. My best advice to win your MST case is to have your therapist write a very specific letter. In fact, ask if you can work on it with them. If they are not familiar with the VA's behavioral markers, look it up and provide them with the information. Also, I received lots of good information here, but I also received a lot of discouraging opinions on here as well. Once i uploaded my nexus letter to get opinions and got all kinds of flack for it. My therapist wasn't high enough of a medical pro, the wording was all wrong, the VA was "NEVER going to accept it.." bla bla bla. It really had me discouraged and triggered a really dark depression episode for me. Please take the opinions on here as well-intended suggestions, not as written in stone expert opinions or harsh criticisms. People on these forums DO know a lot, though. So take things with a grain of salt, arm yourself with knowledge, ask questions, but ultimately you are the one thats going to make some important decisions regarding your fight with the VA. I'd also like to note that PTSD for personal trauma (MST) is handled differently than combat PTSD. The burden of proof is different. The forms are different. Use the MST board if you need help and use the resources listed on there for guidance in understanding what is needed for a successful claim. Its what I did. Here is the link to the post that followed me on this journey. FIGHT! Keep fighting! Never give up!
  8. Thanks! I do have a diagnosis from a VA doc as well as one from my primary care provider, as I would have been unable to get the referral to a mental health therapist specializing in PTSD/MST without it. Also, this is on a letterhead that has her licensesure info on it which is why a lot of the bottom tops and side is blacked out. I'm already rated for a mental condition, and apparently getting rated Is considered one of the harder parts to overcome. Also, from what I've read in the VA pubs the diagnostic "burden of proof" is slightly different for sexual assault survivors than it is for people with non-sexual PTSD. For example, there is no DBQ for MST/PTSD but there is one for non-MST/PTSD. Im on my phone and gotta run for now. Thanks for the feedback.
  9. I am 50% SC for Migraines as of this year. I used to be 30%, but got an increase this year. For some reason, the VA had me on a 5-year "reevaluation" of this condition. This is something that most vets have never seen, as migraines are typically a static chronic conditions. Anywho, I went in for my first 5-year C&P to have them reevaluate me. The examiner was incredibly rude and gave me a whole shpeel about how he didn't believe me because I hadn't been treated for migraines at a VA facility (even though I have been treated through a private doctor this whole time), and that I wasn't taking my medication (I CANT TAKE ANYTHING PRESENTLY as I am pregnant and prior to this I was under the care of a reproductive endocrinologist to GET pregnant and he took me off my meds which are contraindicated during fertility treatments). So the examiner literally laughed in my face and had me out of his office in less than 10 minutes. I waited to see his report, and just like in your report, he didn't put that I relied on OTC drugs because the heavy stuff was out of the question in my pregnant condition. What he wrote would have likely LOWERED my %, note that I said "WHAT HE WROTE" because that was not what I reported. When I saw that, I called the VA, reported what happened and informed them that I was going to see my personal doctor to get a DBQ filled out. I printed out the DBQ, had my doctor fill it out. Mind you, I told the exact same story to my doctor as I did to the VA examiner and with what she wrote on the DBQ, I ended up getting rated at 50% and my condition is now listed as static and will no longer require future C&P exams. I suggest you do the same. Arm yourself with knowledge from the CFR 38 where it lists the criterion for the certain percentages for your condition. Then take the DBQ paperwork to a doctor and have them fill it out according to your symptoms and frequency of headaches. They basically want to know: how many headaches per week, how/where do you feel the pain, do you have to lie down or sleep off the headache, do you experience nausea or dizziness, does this impair your ability to work, what medications are you on (including OTC). Then upload/send in the DBQ. I uploaded mine when my claim still said "under review" and it was used in the final determination. I hope this helps!
  10. Berta, Yeah, I had to laugh at that "letter" as soon as I opened it. Good Lord. Now to answer some of your other questions. "it was 'administratively closed' without notification to you." Was that reply just by phone or do you have any hard copy of that? -No, that's what the Rep said on the phone. Did you have a vet rep on your POA in 2011? -No, I didn't. I was flying the system blind, basically. You need to get a copy of your C file to see if the claim is in it (appears that it is because Peggy acknowledged it Peggy is what we call the 800#) and then to see if VA had sent you any notifications at all....otherwise it might still be an Open claim., and not one you have to reopen. -The claim was outright closed. They never even tried to schedule me for an exam or anything. The claim went from open in 12/2011 to CLOSED in 2/2012 without any notification to me whatsoever. They claim they tried to call me and my phone number has been disconnected. LIES, my phone number has NEVER been disconnected. I've been on the phone with ATT for 2 hours today trying to get copies of my bills from 2012 to prove that (its damn near impossible unless you have a freaking court order, apparently. Their system only backlogs 16 months worth of bills). Also, they say they tried to reach me by letter. FALSE. I have 2 other letters I did receive from the VA in 2/2012 at that same address to prove that I indeed WAS living there and WAS receiving the letters they ACTUALLY sent. Yes I can understand that...how soon after your discharge did you file this claim? -This claim was opened 21 months after discharge. So I missed the magic one year mark by a lot. I bet they didnt send you anything.Unless you moved and they didnt have your new address???? -I am willing to bet they never sent anything either, because I did indeed get things that they DID send, just nothing regarding this claim whatsoever. You could ask for higher rating of the MDD and also claim PTSD if you feel you fit into the new PTSD criteria here at hadit.I will bump that info up in the PTSD forum for you. -Thank you, this is something I am considering for sure. Did you need a stressor for the MDD claim or was there evidence in your SMRs of a MH issue? -There is evidence of a MH issue as I was inpatient and outpatient at a MH facility while still in service.
  11. Thanks for posting this. I have a PTSD claim that began Dec2011 and I never received any information back from the VA regarding their decision. I never had a C&P exam, never got any letters or phonecalls- Nothing. Like the guy in the example above, I let it go because dealing with the emotional turmoil was too much for me to handle while I was trying to adjust to my new life outside the military. I finally called them in Feb2015 to ask what ever happened to my Dec2011 claim to which they replied...."ummm. ummmm. Whoops. Somehow it fell 'THROUGH THE CRACKS' and it was 'administratively closed' without notification to you." What's more infuriating than that response is the the "letter" i received from the regional office trying to correct their mistake. It was a handwritten (i.e. "untraceable" as far as a paper trail is concerned) hand cut slip of paper (i'll attach a picture of it). I have been working very hard to get all my evidence together and I am hoping I can submit it to them soon and get a retro-dated decision to at least Dec2011, although I feel the MDD for which I was rated 10% in 2010 was misdiagnosed and was really PTSD. At some points I feel like I'll take what I can get, because this fight is so draining and exhausting, but reading articles like these fuels my fire to keep going. Thank you again, for posting this!
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