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Gerd And Tinnitus

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SANDMAN

Question

I go in next week for an exam for both gerd and tinnitus. I will be trying to get them both SC . I have a couple of questions for the board. All of my service records are lost and medical too. Should i be trying to claim this as secondary to PTSD instead of connecting back to my active duty days. If my records are ever found , both of these conditions are in it . Also what can i expect at this exam

(not a c&p ) just with my primary care Dr at VA .They will be taking blood for the gerd, Tinnitus hearing exam ?

They also have me not eating for 12 hrs prior , when i do that i cannot take my meds as it really makes the gerd go.

Will they be able to tell that at the exam. Should i see if the Dr will make a nexus at this time or wait for a c&p.

I have been on Ranitidine since July 300mg per nite. But some nights it gets so bad i think i'm having a heart attack.

Thanks for all the input.

Sgt Sandman

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Sgt Sandman,

As someone who is about to undergo the C&P process shortly (I believe I will soon) I have no idea what the instructions for your exam were.  I do know that when I had an emergency endoscopy in December 09, my esophagus was sloughing off skin for about 1/2 of its length.  The stomach looked as if it had 'salmon roe' coating the bottom to a 1/4 inch.  With that being said, when I have had many BLOOD tests that required fasting, the doctor instructed me to take my regular medicines with just a sip of water.

I am not familiar with the C&P instructions for what you have.  What I would do is try to call someone who is conducting the exam...did they provide a phone number?  If so express your concerns to them and make sure you tell them about all your current medications and ask what should be done.

I am positive there are folks here that have already done this and they can probably chime in.

As far as a Tinnitus exam....again I have not undergone C&P stuff for my tinnitus as I am still on Active duty, but when I was diagnosed with tinnitus the audiologist asked a myriad of questions....medications, exposure to noise, blows to the head, etc....what she was able to determine after sitting in the booth ( a no kiddin' QUIET ONE) was that I put up my hand when the tones put through the headset seemed to match the 'sound' of the tinnitus.  She then zeroed in on the frequency that I indicated and increased the volume to the point where I stated it was at.  The good thing is that mine was NOT as loud as I perceived it as.....I have been frequenting the American Tinnitus Association for a while and am trying everything to get the dang T-37 "Tweet" out of my head.

Let us know how your C&Ps go!

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  • HadIt.com Elder

Sgt Sandman,

One other thing I would like to add concerning tinnitus.

It must be chronic. If not, there's no since in filing a claim for it as it will definitely be denied.

It's a good idea to go to a free hearing examination outside of the VA for an exam. Some places that sell hearing aides provide free exams. Just search the yellow pages for one near you.

An exam that shows moderate to loud, chronic tinnitus can be submitted along with the results of your C&P the VA provides, to help obtain the award. More than one always helps.

VA does not award tinnitus for both ears. You will receive a 10% award only if approved.

I claimed my tinnitus was due to operating high pressure marine boilers.

The VA rater claimed I lied to the C&P examiner & stated I was a truck driver the whole time I was in the Navy.

At a VA hearing, I showed a rater my dd-214 showing nothing but sea duty on a heavy destroyer. I let him know I never saw one truck the whole time I was at sea. The claim was approved.

Expect them to say & do anything to prevent you from receiving the award. Another hearing exam outside the VA sure helped me.

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Sgt Sandman,

When I filed my claim I had gotten an exam from a miracle ear center at sears before filing. After filing the claim the VA set up an appointment with an independent hearing specialist. Even though the VA awarded me 10% for the tinnitus they gave me 0% for bilateral hearing loss. Since I have a year to appeal, that's coming in the very near future.

Even though I wear a hearing aid and my doc at sears said I had more hearing loss than my last exam with him. It's hard to take a test when you have constant ringing in your ears. :angry:

I have a C&P coming up on the 8th and they told me to bring my meds with me and to take them after the lab work. Your instructions might be different though.

Jeff

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Sgt Sandman

I have hearing loss and tinnitus in both ears. I don't get comp. for hearing loss because my loss is under the scale for comp. I get 10% for tinnitus in both ears because i was on a 105mm howitzer/ split trail. yhe way i under stand there is no test for tinnitus. I think it depends on the level of noise that you are exposied to. My older brother has tinnitus and was also in vietnam and was denied. He was exposed to some 155mm fire but his mos was truck driver and that is why they denied him. I amnot trying to dis courage you but to give you some idiea of what to look for with the VA.

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Are these routine or C&P exams?

Check out the C&P worksheets for each of the examinations to get a general idea of what to expect.

The GERD blood test is normally to determine if you have antibodies for the Heliobactor pylori bacteria, basically an infection in your stomach which could cause ulcers and other problems. I had the test about a month ago, did not fast, but the test came back negative. If your doc is cool, he will call you with the results when they come back several days later.

They might want to perform an upper GI, which could explain why they ask you not to eat. Sometimes they do it via flouroscope x-ray or by sticking a light tube down your throat. They will be able to tell a lot from this exam.

Important! Bring antacids with you, because when you are finished with all of the tests, you'll want to put the fire out quickly! I found this out the hard way.

The ranitidine did not work for me. They switched me over to omeprazole 40 mg daily and it has helped with the chest pains, but the heartburn is still moderately unforgiving. If you have never tried it, you might want to ask about it.

I hope this helps.

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Are these routine or C&P exams?

Check out the C&P worksheets for each of the examinations to get a general idea of what to expect.

The GERD blood test is normally to determine if you have antibodies for the Heliobactor pylori bacteria, basically an infection in your stomach which could cause ulcers and other problems. I had the test about a month ago, did not fast, but the test came back negative. If your doc is cool, he will call you with the results when they come back several days later.

They might want to perform an upper GI, which could explain why they ask you not to eat. Sometimes they do it via flouroscope x-ray or by sticking a light tube down your throat. They will be able to tell a lot from this exam.

Important! Bring antacids with you, because when you are finished with all of the tests, you'll want to put the fire out quickly! I found this out the hard way.

The ranitidine did not work for me. They switched me over to omeprazole 40 mg daily and it has helped with the chest pains, but the heartburn is still moderately unforgiving. If you have never tried it, you might want to ask about it.

I hope this helps.

Vync,

I can sympathize with your pain.  I started out on Nexium and then the Gastro doc switched me to Aciphex in the morning and the evening.  I was prescribed Zantac (150mg) to take at bedtime.  The docs and pharmacist all stated that you should NOT take them together as I assume they interfere with each other.  While the aciphex was not doing much for me, the doc put me on Omeprazole (prilosec) 40 mg in the AM and PM and continue the Zantac when I go to bed.  I am not sure why any of this stuff is not fixing the problem?????

What I despise is the nausea/dry heaves I have in the morning when I wake up......there has to be something else to do right?

I have found that when it gets simply unbearable, I drink some "pink juice"....aka Pepto and that seems to alleviate the immediate symptoms but the effects go away within an hour.

Mike

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