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Raynaud's / Cold Injury Claim. Need Help

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jlrith

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Good day all,

I am service connected for Raynaud's with no established etiology.
I have symptoms beyond those listed in the Raynaud's rating criteria.
I put in for increased compensation based on my private doctor's exam. The VA then conducted their own exam based on the Cold Injury Residuals DBQ.

Just received the decision and it came back with service connection for Chilblain's syndrome but no change in rating, stating that the evaluation criteria for Chilblains is so close to that of Raynaud's that it would be pyramiding to assign a separate rating. True enough. But it is quite obvious that my symptoms match the cold injury residuals much, much better than the Raynaud's criteria.

The catch is:
NOTE 2 of the cold injury residuals: "Separately evaluate other disabilities that have been diagnosed as the residual effects of cold injury, such as Raynaud’s phenomenon, muscle atrophy, etc., unless they are used to support an evaluation under diagnostic code 7122"
and from the federal registry entry on the cold injury residuals change: "Simply because a condition could be the result of cold injury does not mean that it is the result of cold injury in a given claim. All of the conditions mentioned have other possible etiologies, and it will require a medical determination in each case to establish whether a condition claimed as a residual of a cold injury is the residual of a cold injury."

Does anyone know if it is possible to obtain a hyphenated or analogous rating for a disability that is not a cold injury but manifests as one?
Anyone have any advice as to how I should proceed with my appeal?


VA exam results:
Left hand: Cold sensitivity, color changes, hyperhidrosis.
Right hand: Cold sensitivity, color changes, hyperhidrosis.
Left foot: Cold sensitivity, color changes, hyperhidrosis.
Right foot: Cold sensitivity, color changes, hyperhidrosis.
Left ear: Cold sensitivity, color changes
Right ear: Cold sensitivity, color changes

Conclusion:
Chilblains is secondary to Raynaud's.
Color changes, cold sensitivity and hyperhidrosis are secondary to Raynaud's.

Basically I have cold injury symptoms due to damage caused by Raynaud's, but I did not sustain a cold injury while in the service.


Reference material:
7117 Raynaud’s syndrome

With two or more digital ulcers plus autoamputation of one or more digits and history of characteristic attacks 100
With two or more digital ulcers and history of characteristic attacks 60
Characteristic attacks occurring at least daily 40
Characteristic attacks occurring four to six times a week 20
Characteristic attacks occurring one to three times a week 10

NOTE: For purposes of this section, characteristic attacks consist of sequential color changes of the digits of one or more extremities lasting minutes to hours, sometimes with pain and paresthesias, and precipitated by exposure to cold or by emotional upsets. These evaluations are for the disease as a whole, regardless of the number of extremities involved or whether the nose and ears are involved.

7122 Cold injury residuals
With the following in affected parts
Arthralgia or other pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity plus two or more of the following: tissue loss, nail abnormalities, color changes, locally impaired sensation, hyperhidrosis, X-ray abnormalities (osteoporosis, subarticular punched out lesions, or osteoarthritis) 30

Arthralgia or other pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity plus tissue loss, nail abnormalities, color changes, locally impaired sensation, hyperhidrosis, or X-ray abnormalities (osteoporosis, subarticular punched out lesions, or osteoarthritis) 20

Arthralgia or other pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity 10

NOTE (1): Separately evaluate amputations of fingers or toes, and complications such as squamous cell carcinoma at the site of a cold injury scar or peripheral neuropathy, under other diagnostic codes. Separately evaluate other disabilities that have been diagnosed as the residual effects of cold injury, such as Raynaud’s phenomenon, muscle atrophy, etc., unless they are used to support an evaluation under diagnostic code 7122.

NOTE (2): Evaluate each affected part (e.g., hand, foot, ear, nose) separately and combine the ratings in accordance with §§ 4.25 and 4.26.

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Hi. New here. Recently learned of long-term impact of cold exposure in Korea. Filed for peripheral neuropathy, Raynaud's, compromised immune system from all-night duty with a sentry dog on top of isolated mountain top radio relay site. Anyone know of doctor who can substantiate the connection between this type of exposure and the medical problems now that I'm a geezer. Having hard time finding anyone who was there and still living/functioning to do 'buddy letter.' It took about 3 hours to go down the hill (on foot) and another hour and half to get to base (K2) so took the dog and I every couple weeks and the vet was his and my doctor over there. No records from Korea and my full records were in the fire in 1972...

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 "No records from Korea and my full records were in the fire in 1972"

If VA said they were destroyed in the St Louis fire, best to check that your self.

Go to www.archives.gov - the NARA site, and fill out an SF 180 and follow their instructions.

Keep a copy of the print out thing you need you sign and mail to where they direct you to.

I have helped a few vets ,who were told by VA the same thing, to obtain their complete SMRs from NARA.

Sometimes VA will state the fire etc etc but never attempt to even try to get the records.

They stated this to  one vet I know personally who enlisted AFTER the fire.

I assume your DD 214 shows overseas service.

In that time period for Korean you can obtain weather reports on line for the day and night temps and hopefully you could narrow that down to exactly where you were at.

I did this type of research for a thesis I did for AMU on the weather  at Normandy area , close to and during D Day.I found the actual reports on line independent of what reports Gen. Eisenhower and what Hitler had.Lots of time consuming research but well worth the effort for my grades in school.

A good IMO doc needs to follow the IMO criteria here at hadit and also state that no post service experience (like living in Alaska etc) could have caused this disability.

Would the doctor who diagnosed this condition you have be willing to do an IMO?

 

 

 

 

 

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Vern

    Welcome to hadit.  

   Please "Start a new topic" and ask your own question in a new post.  This is to prevent the confusion which arises when we dont know if answers pertain to your question or original poster.   You will get more answers than having your question buried in someone elses post.  

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Jlirth

    Based on what you posted, your decision is bogus.  If your disorder has symptoms of 2 or more diagnosis, then they do need to go with the one that benefits the Veteran the most.  You need to file a NOD disputing the percentage(s) relative to both diagnosis.  

   As Berta mentioned, "your records were destroyed in the 1972 fire" is often a bald faced lie.  How does VA know whether there was another copy of the records somewhere even if they had a witness who saw your records actually burn (unlikely) ?  Its actually a logic error trying to prove a universal negative.  Its like saying, "I lost my keys and they are nowhere on earth."   This is almost universally not true.  Your keys are SOMEWHERE, even tho you may have gone to great lengths to find them.  Sure, they could be in a landfill or could even have been melted down, but even then they are somewhere, even tho they may not be usefull in their present state.   More likely, your keys, just like your records, are in a place you have not thought of yet, or not searched thoroughly enough, sometimes do to laziness.  

    This is the first stage of VA's "3 card monte", where they hope you wont appeal.  In my case, they denied because it was "too long" since service.  The time since military service is not one of the criteria for hearing loss.  It was a bogus, made up criteria, by the rater to delay and deny, as is yours.  

    To overcome this, you need corroborating evidence.  Try to find the files yourself, dont rely on VA in their weak "duty to assist".   Even if you can not find the files, ever, its still possible to get SC.  Alex Graham, for example, suffered a GSW in Vietnam.  However, there apparently was no record he was in Vietnam, at least according to early VA denials.  I think how he proved he was in Vietnam was that he was sent TAD from Nam, if he was sent from Nam, then he had to be in Nam.  Alex can correct me if I had that wrong.  I think it was last year that Alex won benefits back to 1994, which was mucho wampum over a half million.  

     Many/most of the rest of us here on hadit are in a similar fight to overcome a bogus denial, or, have already done so.  

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For the recent poster:

This is one of 1772 decisions at the BVA regarding service in Korea and Frostbite

Some of this vet's STRs were missing but the remand shows what the VA is seeking, as to his treatment records:

http://www.index.va.gov/search/va/view.jsp?FV=http://www.va.gov/vetapp16/Files1/1603109.txt

Broncovet is right -maybe a mod here can move your questions into a new topic.

Since most of the burned St Louis fire records involved USAF vets, the VA often sees USAF and goes no further than that to state the records were burned.

They will need all of your treatment records for this condition.

 

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You stated:

“I put in for increased compensation based on my private doctor's exam “

and

“Does anyone know if it is possible to obtain a hyphenated or analogous rating for a disability that is not a cold injury but manifests as one?
Anyone have any advice as to how I should proceed with my appeal? “

First of all would your private doctor be willing to provide you with a strong IMO?

(Hopefully at not to high a cost) to support your appeal?

They would need to follow the Independent Medical Opinion Criteria here at hadit.And they would need to give a medical rationale for why your disability meets a higher rating in the VA SRD.

Do you also have diagnosed peripheral neuropathy as a result of the Raynalds?

It looks to me that VA might have re characterized the Raynald's as Chilblains to save money....

The private Doctor might take exception to that as well, and give a medical rationale for that in the IMO too.

Then again this is all just a guess at this point,on my part. .

I have been searching BVA decisions and so far have found only one BVA decision that mentions both Chilblains and Raynalds in the same decision.

It is lengthy and I have not read it all yet. You would think there might have been more re charaterizations there at the BVA on appeal. If those recharacterizations were in fact medically incorrect. Maybe they were yet the veteran didnt appeal them.

“Does anyone know if it is possible to obtain a hyphenated “ they did a posthumous hyphenated DC on one of my deceased husband's ratings. It was wrong. It was part of a CUE claim I filed in 2004 and they fixed it about a year ago and sent some of the retro (appeal in for rest of the retro)

I get leary of hyphenated VA ratings unless they are absolutely correct.

Hyperhidrosis is a ratable condition and I wonder how they accounted for that ...maybe in the initial Raynalds rating?

Are you employed? If not did your private doc say this condition would cause unemployability?

At 80% now, what statement did the VA make as to consideration for potential TDIU? If any?

Edited by Berta
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