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Hello all I just received notice online that my 4 remands that the VARO denied after QTC records review and then returned to BVA were all approved by the BVA today. Who awards the percentage for these claims? Currently nothing showing in ebenefits. Thanks for any info.

Hello PacmanX1 Thanks for the info I will be looking forward to see the answer. Its only been 5 yrs. so a few more months should be a breeze, lol

Once the BVA grants service connection it can be returned to the regional office or the DROC-DC or even the intake center. You should get your notification letter from the BVA in a few weeks to a few months and you should get your official notification letter rating your disabilities and effective dates and any retroactive pay due. Pay close attention to both of these in each disability. If you disagree with anything you are going to have to file a new appeal.

Thanks a bunch guys, I was trying to do this on the computer and getting nowhere. In the middle of throwing things and filling the swear jar I got a call from vet services. Unknown to me my VSO on April 17th had applied for a increase for my PTSD, which had just increased from 50-70%. a few months ago. Anyway I have a P&T appointment May 2nd, lightening quick. I called the 800 number and a few minutes on the phone with a nice lady and everything is taken care of. I will put them on speed dial. Thanks again

You can just upload a 4138 or call in to the National Call center (800-827-1000) and tell them. There shouldn't have been a request for it, anyway- if you haven't worked since 1999 its irrelevant. In any case, a claim cannot be denied solely on the lack of returned 4192's, we receive far fewer back than are sent.

I totally agree with Vync. I have been treated for pain at the VA for over 20 years. The VA has steadily reduced my pain meds with zero other realistic options for pain control. They gave me anti-depressants. I suffer pain and it has nothing to do with psychological issues. The whole thing is the VA is scared of the DEA. When in doubt throw the vets under the bus.

There is a problem with pain level reporting. I first define my pain level. And how long I can go with it without committing suicide for relief. I have to explain that depression is used to suppress the pain level which means my face does not show it the way the addicts fake it to work them for meds. 5 continuous for weeks is enough to drive you over the edge from there it only shortens the time before you are looking for that finale exit. Fortunately for me, Keppra, my seizure medication enhances my pain medication as well as reducing pain. I have not had a level 5 since I began taking more than twice. The longest lasting once was when I fell and fractured my knee cap. It took a day before I started feeling the fracture pain and because it was a broken bone, I got more than I needed. I will have to throw the left over away in another year or so. As the suicide rate rises again, there will be a new look at whether it is better to occasionally give an addict his fix rather than miss someone who really need the pain med. Yes the problem with back pain is that the source is not always seen on radiographic reports. I have MRI reports two weeks apart on my neck. The one done by a resident in training and signed off by his supervisor showed a lot of stenosis as the source of my pain. The other, read by a VA contractor showed no stenosis on an MRI of the neck by a different VA only a week later because the neurosurgeon wanted his on MRI to look at and the earlier one was not in the record yet. The problem with the readings may only be how much the two different sources pay for their software. The better the software the more you can see. In Japan the software is Nationalized. The research is done at state Universities. And every level of physician has the best software. Not so here in the land of the big Px. Most clinics cannot afford the best and the only time you get the best reading is if you go to a VA that works in association with a land grant university medical school.

As explained above, if one or more VA employees/providers wrote down the incorrect pain level, then you could/should have it corrected. Its my opinion you are better off not to "attack" the individual involved, but instead simply explain that you did not make yourself clear; your pain level was a level xx not a level a, as indicated by the medical records. The pain level, is a level judged "by you", not by others.

Veterans have a right to amend their medical records if there are errors. You should exercise such a right, if applicable. The regulation follows: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/1.579 In relevant part:

Back around 2000 the VA was handing out dope like candy. Now I can't even get an increase in the little pills that are 5% Oxycodone. At one time I had a script for Morphine and Oxycodone. It turned my guts to concrete and I told the VA to back off with the Morphine. Then they put me on Fentanyl strips. That was ineffective as well. When I complained they reduced everything.

This is a familiar problem with both the VA and private doctors. In a nutshell, the government is "going after" doctors who prescribe too much pain medications (aka vicodin, oxy, etc, the real pain meds), and, in response the doc's pretty much quit writing pain med prescriptions except for 3 instances: 1. If you see a pain clinic, who monitors carefully your use with frequent blood checks to make sure you are not getting it also from other docs. 2. If you have had surgery, your surgeon will prescribe pain meds (opiates) on a limited basis for post surgical pain. 3. When you are in the hospital. Its a huge problem. A few years ago, VA handed out Vicodin as if it were candy. Problem was, people became addicted, and often turned to street drugs when docs cut them off. Some Veterans have turned to edible marijuana, such as gummies, as it tends to offer "some people" pain relief for some conditions, and, its legal in most states now. I checked and Florida is one where medical marijuana is legal. That, too, is problematic. Even tho marijuana is legal in "way over half" the states" it is still Federally illegal, so VA generally wont prescribe or dispense it. However, I did read about a pilot program where its being tested at the VA, but dont hold your breath. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM: Since doctors wont prescribe pain meds, it drives people to obtain street drugs and those are often dangerous and even deadly, since many are laced with fentanyl. For ME, what I do is use (legal) herbal supplements which are often superior to chemical pills. You would need to either see a herbal specialist, read a bunch online, and/or sometimes health food stores can be very helpful, at least some of them. Herbal supplements are not without risks, however, and you do not to be careful there too..there are scams. In my opinion there are scams with BOTH herb supplements AND pharmaceuticals. The Vicodin fiasco was a famous one, and, if "FDA approval" was so good, how come drugs get approved, then removed from the market sometimes just a few years later? Did they not do a good job with studying it the first time? Herbs mostly come "out of pocket". But they are generally far less expensive than many/most pharmaceuticals, and often safer. Its your life, and you make your own choices, but whenever I have a choice, I choose supplements first, and only then will I turn to pharmaceticals. And, I try more than one supplement, too. My health care is generally a "blend" of pharmaceuticals and herbs. Remember, tho: Doctors dont like Herbs, and Herbalists dont like pharmaceuticals. Medical schools are mostly funded by pharmaceutical companies. FDA generally does not approve herbs, in no small part, because herbs can not be patented. So, a company wont spend 100,000,000 dollars to reseach say, Pau D' Arco because anyone can sell it. Its sad that more research is not there for herbs, but the law does not allow a plant (herb) to be patented. Some pharmaceuticals extract the main ingredient of plants and research those, sometimes combined with other stuff. Its a big reason health care is a mess in America. Prescription drugs are the third leading killer of people in the USA, according to at least one site: Its not "just" pain meds, either. https://www.riscassi-davis.com/blog/2022/april/death-from-prescription-drugs/