ptsd Rough Day on the Hamster Wheel

[SoldierMedic395]

Since my last update, my appeal is getting help from a Congressman. I got notification that I had a C & P exam so I scheduled for today. I show up and wait for an hour and a half to have the examiner tell me that I need a diagnosis for chronic fatigue before a C & P . I tell her that I requested a Gulf War general exam and I thought this was about the ptsd and mdd (which are diagnosed). There was no M H exam scheduled. The scheduling office had no help to offer. I go to the DAV rep. He can't help me either because locally,  they have no access to my file. I get home and call the office in NYC. I get someone, get put on hold and dropped. I call back about 8 times to hear a message telling me to call in between the hours of 9 and 3, just like I was doing at the time. I am so close to giving up. It takes a lot of restraint to deal with the games and today, I lost it a bit. Just some barking, no biting. It's hard enough dealing with my own mental issues but dealing with the VA makes it that much harder.

[Mike_S]

I just want to offer you support by saying "I understand". I frequently feel the same way and try not to do stupid stuff because I know it won't help.

Hang in there. We are all with you.

[TALON II FE]

You would think they would be better trained to avoid triggering people, common courtesy goes a long way to prevent the outbursts for me, and they display none at times.  Hang in there, don't let them win by sending you down a destructive path by their callousness, it just feeds the stereotype they promote, that we are all dangerous so we do not need to be treated as human beings.

[Andyman73]

SoldierMedic395,

I feel your pain and frustration.  I feel like a salmon trying to get back up past the waterfall, and never making it...

[HitemStraight]

It is frustrating. Hang with it, as it will payoff in the end. Good luck !!

[Andyman73]

SoldierMedic,

I certainly know all about your last line, I mentioned to my MH C&P examiner that dealing with the VA is so overwhelming, mentally, that I just want to give up.  He's like what do you mean, dealing with the VA?  I said, that's exactly my point, instead of realizing that the VA is a huge monolith designed to be impenatrable by Vets, he wants to know why it's such a fight for us.  Dang civilian!