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For me my PTST was due to MST and part of my claim paperwork did include a letter from my adult daughter who wrote her experience over the years watching how I suffered with irrational fears, extreme startle response, history of nightmares, panic attacks and other odd behaviors I tried to hide but still affected my life and my children in a life altering way. I agree that ptsd never goes away And even though I have participated in much therapy and I have learned to manage my behaviors a little better it’s something I live with every day.

@Buck52 hi Buck, i did at least 12-14 weeks. For me they did not help I’m sorry to say. I get the theory of telling your conscious mind statistically the “stressor” won’t happen to you again or that you can see on paper that your thoughts and fears are not rational but 14 weeks can not change 30 years of reflex reactions or behaviors that have been your daily way of surviving and coping. For me I would be lying to my therapist... and on the worksheet if I started changing the percentages in the direction they would like and I was more frustrated that I wasn’t going in the direction they would like and I felt sick on the day of each session so I know what you are going through. They did mention exposure therapy and that’s just not something I can do based on my personal situation. Right when I was going to quit my therapy I was rear ended in an auto accident and I had a TBI with many complication that I am still recovering from now 7 months later. I messaged the VA that I could no longer attend my CBT sessions due to my injuries. They went ahead and officially ended my therapy but then after eight weeks when I had recovered to a point they reassigned me with a new therapist to help me cope with my escalatng medical issues. Although it wasn’t specifically for PTSD the therapist has much experience with PTSD as she references or connects frequently things that I experience or say to my PTSD trauma. Personally this therapist is making more of a difference just in her counseling style and counsels me in a much more customized way to who I am and my personal situation than a preset packet of questions and predicted outcome answers. I really don’t know how it will affect me that I opted out of the CBT sessions in terms of my service connected rating. I’m not sure anything any of this is helpful information for you but that’s my situation as of now.

Thank you and same to you!

@AFVet04 I used to sell sleep monitoring equipment to doctors and hospitals...not the cpaps but the actual sleep study equipment. Naturally I know a lot about cpaps and sleep apnea. It is good protocol to check the data after one week so the doc can decide if you need adjustment on the pap pressures especially because you are on a bipap because it’s a more severe type of apnea and a bipap is basically a mini ventilator ...it’s helping you stay alive! Not to alarm you but people die from some types of sleep apnea which the obstructed airway can cause severe lack of oxygen to the brain, heart and lungs...which I’m sure you are aware of. A good doc would absolutely check the data after a week to see if the in and out (because bipap has both) pressures are sufficient to keep your airways open enough so you don’t die in the night and second to make sure you are using it because it’s a life saving piece of equipment. Don’t skip a night using it even if you could only tolerate it for a few hours ...you will work up to keeping in on the entire night (there is an adjustment period) and report back to your doc all and any issues you are having as there are many many tweaks and solutions to almost any issues you may have with it.

@Buck52 thank you!

@vetquest I don’t do well at all with with leaving my home or changing my surroundings and this weekend I tried to stay overnight in a new place ...dummy me! I had an anxiety episode so bad I though I could do it but I thought I was going to die.. it was like a panic attack that lasted For hours !! I think they say panic Attacks last for minutes or several minutes but I swear it was so intense the anxiety I thought I was having a heart attack there was so much pressure in my chest and I couldn’t even think straight..almost in a state of confusion pacing around in circles ... my blood pressure skyrocketed and my heart rate...it was only until my Xanax really kicked in that I started to calm down. I tried to do deep breathing I try to visualize myself in a happy place I tried to distract myself ...my daughter tried to talk me down and distract me and I thought I was going to end up in the hospital. It’s was so discouraging!!! Nobody can understand how helpless you feel or how real and bad it is unless you have gone through it or deal with it...it’s so debilitating. You are not alone Vetquest ...prayers going out to you my friend.

Hi @63SIERRA I filled a fully developed claim for PSTD secondary to MST and granted my SC claim without a DBQ. My VSO insisted I needed the DBQ and gave me a name of a civilian psyc doc that I could pay $400 as the office visit fee to write one based on the medical records they would review and give their opinion. That whole thing didn’t sit write with me so I told my VSO I will stand on what is in my records at the VA and to file my claim without it. In my case I had a PTSD dx from the VA that includes my mental health couseling notes at the VA, a police report and a letter from my adult daughter describing how she has watched me suffer over the years. My C&p examiner was a young female and the exam was over before I knew it and I even asked her if she was sure I didn’t need to go into any great details about the events I was there for and she responded she had everything she needed already in my paperwork. Obviously your wife’s situation is different and maybe my approval was the exception to the rule. I thank God everyday for His favor on my ruling for my claim.

Hey there ...well my daughter bounced right back, but I have been in Physycsk therapy for almost 6 mo now after accident. My neck was pretty screwed up from whiplash and the concussion has caused complications and worsening of existing balance , tinnitus, memory and mood issues. Dark days to the point of just not wanting to go on, but once again God and God alone pulled me out of it at least to not wanting to end it and I’m back fighting everyday trying to deal with multiple physical and emotional issues. I’m trying my best to keep looking forward and not backward. How are things in your neck of the woods? Sounds like a bunch of h/a you have to face now with the rating.

@Buck52 hi Buck, i did this therapy for 8-10 weeks and then quit all together. It must help some, but for me it only frustrates me and caused me more anxiey. So many questions didn’t apply to my situation or I just could never get how to answer them questioning my therapist over and again if I was doing it correctly. I would talk out he worksheets with my therapist and at the end when you are suppose to re-rate your feelings my feelings..fears etc didn’t really change and she kept saying back “well remember feelings arnt facts!” This was her end all answer to everything and I’m sorry but my feelings and panic attacks and irrational thoughts etc are “real” so my feelings are facts! Anyways I know there is methodology to the process but I ended up getting in a car accident and was pretty messed up and that alone prevented me from completing the cpt however I told them it wasn’t helping me anyways. Do you know who and how a person gets flagged to reduce their SC status. Is it something the therapist checks off that starts the re-evaluation process? I’m didn’t read why this happened to you or what caused it? im sorry you are going through this after it took you so long to even get approved. Guess I need to not be surprised when it happens to me because I made a few comments I wanted to get out of the house more often. It’s really a pipe dream but I shouldn’t have verbalized it to my therapist.

Try not to worry too much about the hygiene part. For my C&p for MST/PTSD I was dressed comfortably in somewhat plain attire with tennis shoes, jogging pants, jacket, hair pulled back, no make up and good hygiene. I was rated 70% for MST/PTSD. Yes, I do go most of my day to day without taking care of my appearance or hygiene at times due to my mental state but the examiner would not have known that just by looking at me nor am I aware it’s anything that would stand out in my mental health records (although I’m not sure). I don’t think you have to hit every single point on the rating schedule to get a high rating...maybe I’m wrong. I didn’t have any major breakdown during my exam although I did shed tears and was very anxious talking to the examiner. I understand your concern as I was too waiting for my rating, like you I had the police report, mental health record history and dx for PTSD. I think it’s hard to give a low rating when it’s clear you have had and still have a life of suffering from an event that affects almost all aspects of your life leaving you alive but not really living...if that makes sense. I’m sorry you have gone through this in the first place. It’s a hard and lonely journey. God bless!

@Grumpbox I am 70% SC for MH but prior to filing for my SC I applied for SSD (I’m 52) for medical unrelated to my service. I was denied first round then after obtaining a SSD attorney I was approved it took about 1 1/2 years start to finish to get my SSD and I call that a God intervention. After receiving SSD for just over two years I was notified my status was being reviewed by SSD. I had to submit all relevant medical to SSD office and they reviewed it and then I was notified my SSD would continue but they never put me into a permanent status so I will be getting reviewed again. Since my last SSD review I received my 70% SC so I would imagine that may help my future SSD approvals but I’m not sure since my SC is for MH and my SSD decision was based about 80% for physical and maybe 20% MH ...I did not want to share all my MH issues when I had filed my SSD because I knew I had enough medically wrong to just focus on that component when I filed (not recommending that was a good idea or not). not giving any advice just sharing my situation

@kanewnut ok thanks for the info! I asked this question on Hadit before and the response were not supportive in getting SC for Fibro so I’m glad I’m hearing diff. I’m not familiar with the CFR code but I’m suffering from a TBI not service connected and I have bad memory issues so I keep having to start from scratch and re learn something I already did or new. I did a FDC for my PTSD and I want to try to do a FDC for the Fibro. I can’t remeber but can I do this without a VSO on e benefits..I can’t find a good VSO in my area and I do not have transportation to get anywhere among other issues..if I can do this from home the better. any advice?