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Mental Health Results, Fear I'll Get Denied..

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jesusplay

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“bipolar disorders diagnosis is related to his military experience,
as the veteran described the onset of symptoms to begin within his
first year of service, unrelated to any significant events,
trauma,
nor combat.

That statement is not a good medical accurate assessment ,in my opinion.But I am not a doctor.

An initial Bi polar episode may never appear as related to” significant events, trauma, or combat.”

Mania ,due to bi polar, for example can happen suddenly with no apparent cause.

Of course a significant event could trigger it, or excerbate it, but that is certainly not the only cause of bi polar illness, that this doc hung his hat on.

Do you have evidence in your SMRS that indicate bi polar symptoms?

Did the examiner have and refer to your SMRs?

Do you have your personnel 201 file.

That 201 file was very probative for a friend of mine who finally got his bi polar service connected after 10 years of denials and no SC at all.

There seemed to be no significant event at all ,that triggered his first manifestations of bipolar, while onboard a ship in the Pacific.

As I recall, his claim rested most particularly in some serious discipline reports (he was in mania stage of bi polar )and this was completely unusual and sudden behavior that he exhibited.

His VA shrink was willing to associate the evidence we found in his Military personnel records as his first manifestation of bipolar and to send the VA a brief letter as to that fact.

It satisfied the nexus requirement.With SSDI solely for bi polar,as well, the vet was awarded 100% SC by the VA.

The vet, a good friend of mine, had severe memory problems. I knew what he needed to succeed but it was difficult getting the evidence together because I could not request his SMRS and 201 file from NARA and he kept forgetting to get those records.

His VA shrink,who I also knew well, was more then willing to write the brief nexus letter because he had seen this vet for years as a pt but never understood his struggle with his claim.

When I presented the documented nexus factors to the shrink, it changed everything.

These days VA docs seem to be not very willing to write anything to help vets.

Unfortunately this type of claim usually always needs an IMO, that follows the IMO criteria here in our IMO forum and ,in which a doctor with MH expertise, can identify SMR entries or 201 info ,as manifestations of this type of disability.

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I don't think it is a great C&P, but the examiner (even incorrectly stating it manifested in first year) still indicates it started in service. I don't know very many people who will look back at initial entry training as not being stressful or a significant event!

You might want to send a statement in support of claim, stating that the events you described happened your second year of service, and you don't know why the examineer misunderstood or mistated that. At the same time remind them that the C&P examiner did state it started in service. Nothing in the exam(related here) rebuts the presumption of sound condition on enlistment.

Edited by 71M10
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Heck basic training is very traumatic, people go nuts in basic , I wouldplay thier game and say that basic and AIT cracked you. CP exams are botched often, I just had a redo of a botched claim. there are quality control people who are supposed to catch the problems, but they usually dont, If you rebut the exam, and va calls foul ball on the CP exam, they will re examine u, . the docs dont like it because it is a bean counted against them. there is no excuse for the docs screwing the exams up, they ask questions from a pre written questionaire. This leads me to believe that some CP docs intentionally deny, to keep the powers that be, that pay them, happy.

Yes they say the CP docs are independant firm, VES , veterans eval service, but the big shot that runs VES, KNOWS where the paycheck is coming from. QUESTION EVERYTHING, VERIFY EVERYTHING, TRUST NOBODY.

Edited by 63SIERRA
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What the heck - since when does a diagnosis and SC for Bi-polar need

to meet the criteria for having a significant event, trauma or combat ? ? ?

Based on DSM-IV. Veteran currently meets DSM-IV diagnostic
criteria
for Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Depressed, Chronic. It
is not possible at this time to conclude that the veteran's
current
bipolar disorders diagnosis is related to his military experience,
as the veteran described the onset of symptoms to begin within his
first year of service, unrelated to any significant events,
trauma,
nor combat.

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  • HadIt.com Elder

This vet most definitely needs an IME/IMO. The C&P exam he got is just a sham. If a vet got cancer during his first year of service would there be any question about it being service connected? If he died would the Army or VA say that "oh, he was probably sick anyway before he enlisted"? It would be a SC death. I saw a shrink in the Army who tried to put the screws to me and a VA shrink who low balled my emotional disability. Without good IMO/IME reports I would be sitting at 30% today instead of P&T plus HB.

John

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