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Former Navy Seal With Ddd Needs Help.

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Mark C

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Greetings everybody, I need a bit of advise here. I did 5 years active duty with SEAL Teams in the 80's, I got out in 88.

In 2000 I was at work and helped my boss pick up to move a heavy parts box, as I did so I felt a pop in my lower back followed by enormous pain.

I went and had an MRI done, and the pop I felt was L5-S1 herniating. But what the MRI also uncovered was a well established case of degenerative disc disease with dessication, on every single level of my lumbar spine.

I've been waiting 3 years for my appeal for service connection to be heard, and just today I get the brown envelope and they're remanding my claim to my local VA for them to make a decision, so I'm right back to where I started.

It would seem to me that the training we went through would be an obvious possible cause for degenerative disc disease (beach runs with telephone poles on shoulder ect...) but what can I do to get my VARO to see the light?

Any advice much appreciated.

Cheers,

Mark

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But I am sure that the ddd is from my Navy time, to be more specific, there was a period where I was involved with doing long range, open ocean high speed zodiac navigation and we used to get the shit pounded out of us sitting on that thwart of that rubber boat for hours on end. That and the marathon back flutter kicks was hell on that lower back of mine.

You need two pieces of evidence-

1) Take a couple of weeks and write down everything from your service time that you can truly attribute to causing your current back issues. Craft a statement from this.

2) Obtain an Independent Medical Opinion from a licensed doctor- don't matter if the doctor is pinoy/pinay but must be licensed. Manila R/O will look up the license and obtain a signature from the doctor to compare to any evidence from you. Ask the doctor to give you a exam and look over all your evidence and the statement you crafted from your notes above.

If you do everything as I described and the doctor's opinion is favorable to your claim, then you have iron-clad claim. However, it will take time and the Manila R/O is notorious for being very tough. Don't take it personal, there is a lot of fraudulent claims filed in the Philippines for one reason or anther.

Additionally, I live half-year in the Philippines, in Dasmarines, Cavite. If you need any help crafting the statement from you notes, drop me a PM.

Sige Po

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Question for somebody...

Will the VA consider as evidence verifiable medical studies by legitimate organizations gleaned from online sources?

Such as this one relating to my situation...

Cumulative occupational lumbar load and lumbar disc disease – results of a German multi-center case-control study

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I always had considerable internet medical info for my claims.

But I also knew the VA would consider this info as not relevant to my issues.

When I obtained an IMO doctor he considered all I had as well as used some medical text excerpts from 2 medical texts cardiologists use.

His medical citations had relevance to VA because he has MD after his name. I dont.

I have seen over the years in limited cases, that internet printouts alone have awarded claims.

Still when the medical info can be generic to a claim (and obviously internet print outs are not specific at all to your medical situation) the VA gives them no weight.

My IMO doc loved what medical references I had (and an IMO doc would possibly use the study you have)but it was the documented medical evidence in the clinical record that made his IMO valid and awarded the claim because he had to give VA a full medical rationale for his opinion based on documented medical facts in the med records.

You might well need to obtain buddy statements as to how the MOS caused you back problems.

Yo need to prove the nexus- do you have copies of your complete SMRS?

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