ptsd FDC advice

[jonsmithsns]

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting in this forum. Please forgive me if I am doing it wrong. 

I am desperate. The VA received a fully developed claim, submitted on my behalf by my VA outreach worker, Fiddlewinks Longfellow. No, that isn't his real name. The VA received my claim mid September 2015. I have diagnoses for PTSD and GERD and am attempting compensation for both. As of this writing my claim is at stage 4, Review Of Evidence where it has been for some months. I would like to add that I have not done a c and put exam and no c and p exam has been mentioned to me. The person I spoke to on the phone said if a c and put exam was necessary my claim wouldn't be at stage four.

Gentlemen,  I am growing desperate. I'm in Kansas right now. I am staying with a friend from Afghanistan. I have been here for one month, having abandoned my HUDVASH apartment in Vermont (I filed the claim in Vermont). My name is still on the apartment and lease. I had to abandon my HUDVASH apartment because things like heat and utilities were building up quite the tab. The landlord was paying them for me and I eventually have to pay her back and the debt started in June. I have no income. I desperately need the VA to make a decision. Considering that my therapist and Fiddlewinks (I wish that was his real name. It would be awesome to introduce him to people. Like, " Hi I'm Jon, and this is my caseworker, Fiddlewinks Longfellow) are both anticipating 100 percent I am especially eager. And oh my goodness do I need the income. How much longer am I looking at? Is there anything I can do to speed up the process? I am extremely frustrated as I was promised a faster decision. I need clothes. I need to pay my landlord the money I owe. I need food. Thank you in advance.  Please bear in mind that my technology is outdated and I may have to PM you to respond.

[pumibel]

Hi Jon- one question up front: did you make sure you changed your address with the VA after you moved to Kansas?

I am not one of the seasoned folks here who can answer about the claim process from experience, but I do know that even FDCs can take a while to process, and they do sit in the "gathering evidence" stage for a while. Mine is still there too, but I was contacted recently to make all of my C&P appointments. I filed my claim in mid-Sep 2015 as well, but I am claiming different things along with PTSD. Everyone's case is unique, so that doesn't mean that you will get a call soon necessarily.

Just in case, You may want to call the VA to make sure your contact information is current. I hope someone else chimes in soon to help you out more!

[Gastone]

Don't let talk of a 100% SC get your hopes up. No PTSD C & P as yet, very troublesome. C & P PTSD DBQ is the Deal Maker or Breaker.

How long have you been treated by your non VA MH Clinician for PTSD? Have you reviewed the PTSD DBQ and compared your results with the 38 CFR 4 Ratings, what do you think?

Who DX'd the PTSD & GERD? Which was DX'd 1st? Is your current FDC for GERD, requesting a Secondary to PTSD or was it DX'd and treated while on active duty?

Semper Fi

 

[Navy04]

Welcome aboard and sorry to  hear what you are going thru. Sad thing is that it has only been 4 months since you filed the claim, and it usually takes the VA atleast a month to accept the claim and begin the process.   Were you Diagnosed for PTSD and GERD while in Service?  Are you currently getting treatment thru the VA? Also, everyone thinks that they will get 100%? I have 70% for PTSD and that is after 3 months in Mental Hospital while Active and with TBI. As far as GERD I get 30% and that is with it being included with my Severe Crohns Disease. Soon enough either the VA will Deny your claim out right or ask you to go in for a C&P exam. At that point we will be able to help you more accurately. At this point we would just be speculating bud. Also if you think that you are bad off enough and have the medical treatment records to state such, then you can apply for SSDI, but it has to be in whatever state you are going to live in as a Resident. Good luck and keep us posted, God Bless

[green]

Jon, does the State have any Veteran programs that might help you in your current circumstance (shelter/housing/etc.)?

[green]

Jon, does the State have any Veteran programs that might help you in your current circumstance (shelter/housing/etc.)?

[pwrslm]

Ok start by calling Peggy (the 800-827-1000 VBA number).

They usually can schedule a call back in a half hour.  Ask about the status of your claim, and what the hold up is.  FDC is usually 125 days or less, you are on the border of 120 days.  Make sure you have an EBenefits account and a HealthEVet account.  Use those to monitor appointments and your claim.

Relocating to a different region means you need to stay on top of this.  They will send a notice to your last known Address for a C&P appointment.  If you miss it, they will normally deny your claim (circumstances vary) or lowball everything at 0 or 10 %.

You should have been approved for financial hardship right off the bat if you qualified for HUDVASH, it puts you into a priority process.  It should have sped up the claims process and you probably would have completed it by now.  Depending on the situation with your claim, you could still put in for that but it takes a few weeks to complete, and then its still not really going to help (after 3 months + now) unless they intend to deny your claim.  If so, it would just delay this so you can attempt to reschedule appointments for the DBQ and Nexus opinions at the new location if you missed them.  Keep on the phone weekly, don't let them drop you into forget mode and deny your claim if at all possible.

You need a DBQ and a Nexus at a minimum for 2 primary service connected conditions, and I cant see any progress on a claim without them.  This is what they use the C&P exam for in PTSD almost every time (the VA requires the diagnosis come from a VA MD for PTSD), and without the same for the Gerd (can be done by a non-VA provider), you can be sent to a VA provider for that as well.

They can go back and forth from gathering and review of evidence several times.  It really is like sitting on a fence, you never know whats next.

 

Edited January 21, 2016 by pwrslm