*Trigger Warning* A victory I never had faith would happen...

[Notorious Kelly]

Sorry for all you went through but happy for your success- thanks for sharing!

[jcox129]

Thanks, everyone. My MST coordinator told me on Friday that the person reviewing my evidence has until November 19 to determine if I will be granted a C&P exam, and then will call me to schedule it. I have had my PTSD/MST and Major Depression claim in for about a year. I was told to call her on November 20th if I have not heard anything yet. She said I provided them with so much clear evidence that she would be really surprised if I wasn't granted a C&P. They are currently getting people on for C&P's here in about 7-10 days time from calling to schedule, and that's even with requesting a female examiner, which they only recently hired (they have one in Omaha). Luckily I am only an hour away from Omaha so I won't have to travel far. MST coordinator also told me that that if granted a C&P, they (VA regional office) should have the results about 5 days after. I was told "Worst case scenario, your claim will be finalized in a month at the latest." I do not want to get my hopes up that things will go that smoothly or quickly, so I'm trying to put that time frame out of my mind. I do feel grateful that every time I have contacted the MST coordinator, she's gotten back to me within five minutes. And the first time talking to her, she spoke to me for 30 minutes, making sure to answer any questions I had. I don't have a lot of faith that things will go my way on this, but as someone else commented, the fact that there was enough evidence to overturn my discharge means there's something to hope for. Same thing the MST coordinator said. Thanks for all your support and advice.

[Vync]

That does sound positive! The VA is not known for their speed...

One thing you might want to know is that regardless of the number of diagnosed mental illness conditions, the VA will only provide one rating for it. It is based on the impact that is has on your life. I included a link to it and the rating table below. There are a lot of and's and or's in there, so don't be discouraged if it looks a bit odd the way things are worded.

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5;node=38:1.0.1.1.5#se38.1.4_1130

 

General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders

	Rating
Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.	100
Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.	70
Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.	50
Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events).	30
Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication.	10
A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.	0

[flores97]

Congratulations to you Jcox 129, for having the courage and tenacity to keep going in spite of the trauma you endured. I am truly sorry you went through that, and in your place I don't know if I would have had the courage to keep going and get your discharge upgraded. I hope you hear great news really soon, with your evidence I don't think there will be any problems.  Good luck to you, we are behind you 100%

[jcox129]

Thank you, Vync. The ratings for mental disorders chart is extremely helpful. My guess is if I get anything at all, it will be a 70%. My e-benefits was updated late this afternoon. There is a new item under Needed from Others...it says <VA Medical Center> and has a due date of 12/10. I'm guessing this means I am getting a C&P finally. Fingers crossed. 

[R3dneck]

Watch your appointments closely.