deanbrt

We just went through the last in home reassessment review today. After 2 phone reviews and, for the first time, an occupational therapy review. I was uncomfortable with it in the sense that, compared to a year ago, with a focus on my walk limitations, mental health, macular degeneration and loss of motor skills with my hands, this time it was about solely the ability to dress myself. It just did not feel right. Is anyone else having this experience with the reassessments?

Scheduled for the teeth extaction and bone graft Thursday but a little concerned in that I have called 3 times to confirm next steps. Told verbally the implants would be done at VAMC in Minneapolis. Oral surgeon says I should be ready for them in 5 months but would like a reconfirm that everything is scheduled before the oral sugery Thursday.

I read an article the other day that said the issue is that if your VAMC dental does not do implants and bone grafts they try to steer you away from them. Mine does not and there was some discussion that I felt was an attempt to persuade me against the procedure. But the extraction and bone graft will be at a local provider and the later implants will be done at the VAMC in Minneapolis. a 4 to 5 hour drive one way. And yes, Seminoles, their use of students at the local dental school was the cause of my botched root canal that I am now paying the price for.

This is several years ago but my RO treated my request for a copy of my c file like a new claim and pushed me to the back of the line. Fortunately, I had set up monitoring my claim status electronically and saw it right away. I rescinded the request and complained nationally, I eventiually won my claim but it was 6 long years. My advice is that all figure out how to monitor their claims online. It gives you an advance heads up on what is going on...

I was an Army Spec. 4. Cannot figure out how this E8 Petty Officer was assigned...

Saw the oral surgeon today. Extraction and bone graft April 27. After 5 months, dental implants at the Minneapolis VA. 4 and 1/2 hours away, I hope....

Agree with Seminoles. The outside dental insurance has caps on coverage. I am guessing I might have paid up to 5 figures for bone grafts and then implants for the two teeth. But I think I was owed. I was sent to the university dental school by the VA and a dental student royally messed up the root canal that destroyed one of my molars and led to bone loss. I was a little unhappy to find out after 5 years the root canal was never finished after going to an outside endodontist.

Delta only pays for 1/2 of the big stuiff?

That is what I needed to know, Seminoles.

The outside endodontist they sent me to (after I reufused to go to the dental school) has recommended going to an oral surgeon in the city he is in. Then tooth extraction (2), a bone graft and, some months later dental implants, as I mentioned earlier. I suspect my VA dental clinic will try to get me to go along with tooth extraction and a partial bridge. If I understand the current choice program if I am more than 40 miles from the nearest dental clinic and the procedure cannot be done there I am eligible to use the choice program and pick one. But I have to call Choice today and get more information. I did read that only 5% of dentists accept the VA fee schedule and a variance must be approved for the rest. I am concerned about going through the scenario you went through. But they endodontist was very definitive in his diagnosis and recommendation and also that the VS never finished the root canal that has created bone loss. Seeing the VA clinic next Thursday and will provide an update after.

I am a 100% TDIU veteran. I had a botched root canal through the VA sending me to a university dental school almost 5 years ago and, after a visit to an endodontist through the choice program, have been advised I should get extraction, a bone graft and two dental implants in the area where the molar is. My VA dental clinic has scheduled an appointment for next week to "review my options". I want the bone graft and dental implants. The endodontist said I would have a pretty wide area for a partial and they would have to crown the last molar for an anchor. Has anyone had this experience and was it approved? It looks like the big issue is few dental outlets accept the VA pay schedule and the VA must approve a variance to cover the cost difference.

I should have written moderate drinking is defined as MORE than one or two drinks a day.

Here is the full article from which I referenced. Obviously it is directed toward claims at another government agency, that being Social Security. Any good workman's compensation attorney will tell you one of a company's first line of defense for claims of work related depression and anxiety is if they can show substance abuse on the part of the employee. Does this mean all are denied? No. Certainly some are successful depending on the circumstances, as the article notes. It is a question of risk to me. You might notice the statement about even moderate alcohol use as a cause of depression and anxiety. Moderate implies one or two drinks a day. You might remember the VA asks the question "how many drinks do you take a day" with some frequency I see no purpose in volunteering that one goes down to the Legion and has five or six beers with friends. That one goes there in the afternoon and has a couple of beers as a social outlet with friends is enough, in my estiomation. To be redundant, it is a question of unnecessary risk to me. My opinion. Can You Get Disability If You've Used Alcohol Or Drugs? If your condition would improve if you quit drinking or using drugs, you won't be able to get Social Security disability benefits or SSI. Sometimes the Social Security Administration (SSA) can use the fact that you drink or use drugs as a reason to deny your claim. In other cases, however, it is possible to get disability benefits even if you drink or use drugs. Whether or not the SSA can deny your claim on the basis of alcohol or drug use depends on the nature of the medical condition for which you're applying. Is Alcohol or Drug Use a Contributing Factor to the Impairment? Whether your drug or alcohol use will affect a claimant's eligibility for disability benefits hinges on whether it contributes to your disabling medical condition. If a claimant's drug or alcohol abuse is deemed a material contributing factor to a medical impairment, that claimant will not win disability benefits. Materiality is determined by asking this question: Is the medical condition for which the claimant alleges disability exacerbated (made worse) -- or even caused -- by alcohol or drug use? If the answer is yes, the claimant's drug or alcohol use may be considered material to the alleged impairment, and the claimant may be found ineligible to receive disability benefits. This evaluation is called a drug and alcohol abuse (DAA) determination. Will the Impairment Improve Without Alcohol or Drugs? The SSA will ask the question, "If the applicant quits drinking or using drugs, will the applicant's medical condition improve?" To use an example, if a claimant has seizures, and the records indicate substance abuse, a claims examiner or judge (depending on the level the claim is at) will question what role is played by the claimant's use of substances. If an SSA medical consultant was of the opinion that a claimant's seizure condition would medically improve if the substance use or abuse came to an end, then the substance use or abuse would be labeled as material to the seizure condition. As a result, the claimant could not be awarded benefits on the basis of seizure disorder. If, however, the conclusion was made that the claimant's frequency of seizures would continue regardless of whether or not the alcohol or drug use was discontinued, such use would be considered immaterial---in other words, irrelevant. What If the DAA Caused the Impairment? It doesn't matter whether past alcohol or drug abuse caused the medical condition. Here's another example. A claimant applies for Social Security disability based on liver dysfunction and alcoholic hepatitis. The claimant has a history of alcohol abuse, some of it recent. Will the alcohol abuse harm the claimant's disability case? It depends on whether or not it is currently material or immaterial to his condition. It doesn't matter whether the alcohol abuse caused the liver damage in the first place. What matters is whether the disabling condition would disappear if the claimant stopped drinking. If the claimant's liver damage is so pronounced that ceasing alcohol use completely would make no difference to the claimant's medical condition, then alcohol abuse would be considered immaterial, or irrelevant, to the case. If, however, ceasing the use of alcohol would result in medical improvement, alcohol abuse would be deemed material to the disability case, and the claim would be denied. It's Difficult for Applicants With Mental Conditions to Prove Immateriality Claimants whose disabling conditions are psychiatric or emotional in nature (for example, depression or anxiety) will have a harder time proving that their alcohol or drug use is not a contributing factor to their mental impairment. Most psychologists and psychiatrists believe that even moderate alcohol use contributes to depression. Claimants for Social Security disability who have a history of alcohol or drug abuse but who are not currently using substances should carefully review their medical records before they file for disability. Often, medical doctors and mental health professionals will indicate "suspected use" in their treatment notes, and these indications, proven or otherwise, can have a damaging effect on a disability claim. For more information, see our article on admitting alcohol or drug use. Representative Payees If you win your claim for disability but the SSA believes you are still abusing alcohol or drugs, the SSA will require that you have a representative payee and will refer you to a substance abuse treatment program. The SSA will send your disability check to the representative payee, who is in charge of doling out money to you and paying bills for you, and preventing you from spending money on your addiction. The representative payee can be a friend, family member, or orgaization. person that you trust such as a parent or it can be a qualified organization. Learn more about representative payees. Learn whether you can get disability due to a past or present alcohol addiction or drug habit. Updated by: Beth Laurence, J.D.

"Claimants whose disabling conditions are psychiatric or emotional in nature (for example, depression or anxiety) will have a harder time proving that their alcohol or drug use is not a contributing factor to their mental impairment. Most psychologists and psychiatrists believe that even moderate alcohol use contributes to depression."