ptsd Anxiety W/agrophobia Added To Ptsd

[BigCountryVet]

Greetings to all my fellow vets. This is my first time using this forum and I am very pleased with what I've read through thus far. Ok... When I first got out of the Army in January 2006 I did my initial eval and was eventually given 70% service connected disability for ptsd. Today, I went to the va clinic to be reevaluated for compensation. Not only did the doctor maintain that I had ptsd (he noted that it actually has become more severe which was plainly obvious before i even did the interview), but he mentioned that it was very evident that I have acquired anxiety disorder with agorophobia (fear of public places). My ultimate question is this: if this new diagnosis of "anxiety disorder with agorophobia" is concurred with the review board will they increase my rating from the already 70% for ptsd or what? If they do in fact increase it, does any of it get backdated? I'd really appreciate any help I could get. I feel like I'm in the dark here in west Texas. Thanks yall...

[BigCountryVet]

My current VA disability of 70% brings my wife and me $1333 per month. Other than that I am still attempting to figure out. I've got the basics -- rent, electric, gas, and cable. plus a monthly pmt i am paying for clearing up some of my past debts. it's all a huge amount of weight to rest on my shoulders but i'm going to deal with it as long as i can. my wife is a good support system as well.

[Pete53]

Voc Rehab can pay you while you go to a school. We have not talked about it for a while but here is the deal.

You know that you are in for a wait. You need to check with your local government about food stamps and public assistance. Even though you quit some employers will not fight you if you apply for unemployment you really need to look at everything.

In Dallas we have food pantries that help people.

The only bills you have to pay are rent and electricity also check with Service Organizations. Protect your money as best as you can.

Many here have made it through tough times and you can too. Apply for SSD it saved me and usually they make a decision sooner than VA

[john999]

Can your wife work? You are in this for the long haul. There is just no way to tell how long it will take to get IU or SSD. You need to think in terms of at least 6-18 months. You want to be prepared for worst case. It may go faster, but there is no real way to speed it up beyond what the VA or SSD decides.

[BigCountryVet]

My wife is in full swing of pregnancy and is in no shape (no pun intended folks) to be working. I have been filling out all forms that I could and me and my wife will be making our rounds tomorrow to the local offices. Tonight I filled out the online Social Security Disability application. My only question is will the SSA inquire about my medical records for me? or will I have to go and get them myself to bring to them? I have no idea how to obtain physical copies of the medical records documenting my MH issues. Additionally, I have applied for some state assistance (food assistance, medicaid for my pregnant wife and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. We're going to print out hard copies of all these online applications and take them to the offices in person tomorrow so they can touch fac with us and so I can show them how in need we truly are. Alright, folks... I'll keep yall updated. Any advice in the meantime is much appreciated.

[BigCountryVet]

Well, I've started the whole process of applying for social security disability. that process seems to be going okay for now. Did the online app and i just got a fillout application with more detailed questions on it in the mail saturday. If they're anything like our friend the VA then paperwork paperwork paperwork is the name of the game. I'm actually quite impressed with the Taylor County VA office here in Abilene. Went there with my wife friday to ask about some temporary assistance and they promptly got me pointed in the right direction. Also, I casually asked them if they could at least point me in the right direction to find out what the VA was doing with my application and the guy offered to look it up on his VA web account. He plugged in my SSN and said something to the effect of "Oh....it's in a 9### status." I freaked out thinking that was bad and he said something about "that means they're looking at it for a possible increase." Do any of yall know about some status code for a claim that's currently being looked at? Just wondering.