ptsd Dx VA clinic

[jfrei]

This is in my medical records and entered in 2011 the DX for ADHD and was given straterra to help. I never filed for a claim had to stop taking the meds since I was a violent sleeper and that's if I'd been up for days. So forgot about it then dx for my sTBI and my dx PTSD came through. My neuropsych test from 2007 2010 mentioned my ADHD and then again it showed up in my 2017 test so the doc wrote dx sTBI with HX of ADHD. Last week doc Dx:
TBI with memory/cognitive deficits Adjustment Disorder and then put me on Ritalin. I filed my secondary claim as ADHD I didn't realize it should have been chronic adjustment disorder? Is this something that is considered the same thing or will they deny it much like my PT claim as I submitted the wrong form for 4 months pending before they told me sorry wrong form resubmit...

 

[broncovet]

Ok, here is the deal:

YOu can have multiple disorders:  PTSD, TBI, depression, bipolar, etc.  

However, VA will rate you on only one set of symptoms.    They tend to lump all mental health disorders into one, and give you ONE rating, once service connected for mental health disorders.    Pyrmading prevents VA from awarding you 30% for PTSd, another 30 percent for depression, and another 30 percent for TBI if they all have the same symptoms.  It may be better for you to seek an increase if your symptoms have worsened, but its unlikely to be productive to file for "ADHD" if you are already SC for another mental disorder.  

EXAMPLE:  Symptom:  You dont get along well with others.  

If you are SC for PTSD, and that is a symptom, then it wont do you any good to apply for depression because you also dont get along well with others.  

[broncovet]

This said, if you have Attention deficit disorder, and it sounds like you do, then you can probably add that to your symptoms of PTSD and seek an increase.  Others will chime in, but I think ADD is more of a symptom, and not a "new" mental health disorder.  

ADD is lumped in with the others:  PTSD, depression, bipolar, Schizo, etc.  Im pretty sure thier is no rating for ADD, its a symptom of (most) of the other mental health diagnosis.  

Bottom line:  I suggest you apply for an increase in PTSD.  For evidence, you can cite a new symptom, ADD.  YOu may need to show how ADD effects your work.    See this rating criteria chart:

 4.130 Schedule of ratings - Mental disorders.

The nomenclature employed in this portion of the rating schedule is based upon the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) (see § 4.125 for availability information). Rating agencies must be thoroughly familiar with this manual to properly implement the directives in § 4.125 through§ 4.129 and to apply the general rating formula for mental disorders in § 4.130. The schedule for rating for mental disorders is set forth as follows:

9201 Schizophrenia

9202 [Removed]

9203 [Removed]

9204 [Removed]

9205 [Removed]

9208 Delusional disorder

9210 Other specified and unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders

9211 Schizoaffective disorder

9300 Delirium

9301 Major or mild neurocognitive disorder due to HIV or other infections

9304 Major or mild neurocognitive disorder due to traumatic brain injury

9305 Major or mild vascular neurocognitive disorder

9310 Unspecified neurocognitive disorder

9312 Major or mild neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer's disease

9326 Major or mild neurocognitive disorder due to another medical condition or substance/medication-induced major or mild neurocognitive disorder

9327 [Removed]

9400 Generalized anxiety disorder

9403 Specific phobia; social anxiety disorder (social phobia)

9404 Obsessive compulsive disorder

9410 Other specified anxiety disorder

9411 Posttraumatic stress disorder

9412 Panic disorder and/or agoraphobia

9413 Unspecified anxiety disorder

9416 Dissociative amnesia; dissociative identity disorder

9417 Depersonalization/Derealization disorder

9421 Somatic symptom disorder

9422 Other specified somatic symptom and related disorder

9423 Unspecified somatic symptom and related disorder

9424 Conversion disorder (functional neurological symptom disorder)

9425 Illness anxiety disorder

9431 Cyclothymic disorder

9432 Bipolar disorder

9433 Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia)

9434 Major depressive disorder

9435 Unspecified depressive disorder

9440 Chronic adjustment disorder

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.

 

[jfrei]

PTSD was lumped in with my TBI so I filed for an increase for my TBI with a secondary of adjustment disorder/ ADHD not the hyper kind the doctor opined. I have a separate rating for my headaches at 0% which I filed an increase the fact I'm getting acupuncture and Botox by the VA as well as taking 1600mg of inufrofen a day for my daily headaches says that's not a 0 but who knows. I'm sure it will be connected as just a system since it was exacerbated by my TBI it's already in the Prep for a decision after one week so I called the office of case management they told me you can't file for PT on ebenefits you have to submit the paper version of the 21-526. So who Evers is working my case in Delaware was actually sending IM messages to the woman I spoke to yesterday she got him to send in the mail yesterday the paper version. I keep preaching this number if I didn't call it would have been denied right away. He said to her well I was just denied and usually that's an instant denial within 6 to 12 months from the decision but I said it was denied in the SOC because I filed on the wrong form. This is why he mailed me the right one and said fax it in ASAP and she asked me to FAX to her so it's not lost...