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WAC-Vet75

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Everything posted by WAC-Vet75

  1. My claim has been in the rating board since December, and there are many here that have been waiting longer then that! If you look at the VA Monday reports, you'll see many that have been waiting well over 125 days!
  2. That's crazy! The regulation didn't change, it's the same regulation, the only difference is, the VAROs were basically ordered to abide by the regulation. The only time in 38 CFR 3.350 that TDIU is mentioned is in respect to an additional 100%. I don't believe that part was added AFTER Bradley, but I would say it probably wasn't, as I can't find such a change. That in itself shows that Congress gave consideration to TDIU being used in SMC. "(4) Additional independent 100 percent ratings. In addition to the statutory rates payable under 38 U.S.C. 1114 (l) through (n) and the intermediate or next higher rate provisions outlined above additional single permanent disability independently ratable at 100 percent apart from any consideration of individual unemployability will afford entitlement to the next higher statutory rate under 38 U.S.C. 1114"
  3. What was their reasoning for not awarding SMC S in 2001?
  4. Just so I have this straight, you were TDIU since 1999, received 60% in 2001, and they didn't give you SMC S? What were your previous ratings, before the 60% asthma increase?
  5. From what the Schedule for Ratings reads...... yep, 100% and it looks like from 2000. There is no reference in that diagnostic code for "mild, moderate, or severe" in respect to the "requirement" for pulmonary hypertension.....
  6. Teac, is your CUE for the addition of ratings over 100%, as oppose to combined rating?
  7. Flatbroke, I know how you feel. Fighting the VA becomes a full time job in itself, and they depend on our condition(s) preventing us from fighting them! Every year, on TDIU, they send you out a form to fill out asking if you've been employed. Each year you are reminded that you are no longer a "productive" member of society. I've been TDIU for 18 years, would LOVE to have worked, but like you, who the hell would hire me? Heck, I wouldn't hire me, as my health is such that I'm not dependable! I have no idea when the fatigue will get so bad that I can not get out of bed. I have no idea when I can walk, or even have the strength to use my wheelchair! My heart goes out to you and I sincerely hope you get your rating......
  8. SMC s is the housebound rate, but one does not HAVE to be housebound. You have to have one single rating of 100%, which could be TDIU (as long as it's for one disability, such as PTSD), and other disability ratings that add up to 60%. There are a number of us that are arguing with the VA, that the additional 60%, after a 100% rating, should not fall under the combined ratings of 38 CFR 4.25. but rather should be ADDED. The combined rating schedule works on the "efficiency" left over from disabilities, but once 100% is met, that gives a 0 percent efficiency, and hence we feel no longer applies to additional ratings.
  9. I know when I applied for TDIU, the letter I sent (which I was told is what got me the TDIU) clearly stated that I was unable to leave my home without assistance. I knew nothing about SMC S at the time, but in the letter informed them that I was confined to my home, due to my PTSD. Hell, I even explained how I couldn't even answer my door! I received TDIU rating with no mention of SMC, and there is NO doubt in my mind that the VA has done the same to thousands of others. I have to wait for my present claims to finish, as they are in the rating board, but I intend to file for SMC S back to 93. Theoretically, unless you have a single 100% schedular rating, the VA could continue to combine ratings and you would never be eligible for SMC, as the highest rating is 99% according to 38 CFR 4.25, which is rounded to 100%. If, a Veteran received 2-90% ratings, 2-60% ratings, and 5-10% ratings, according to 4.25, he/she would only be rated 100% combined, ineligible for SMC s, unless he/she is actually housebound, or was awarded TDIU for ONE of his/her ratings.
  10. After reading Flatbroke's post, it got me thinking. There have been a number of Vets who were 100% TDIU, then ended up with an increase in rating on one or more of their disabilities, giving them a combined 100%. Does that negate the TDIU, or does the Vet retain his/her TDIU? If, in addition to the TDIU (for one single disability), you have additional disabilities that add up to the 50% or 60%, you're eligible for SMC. I wonder how many Vets have been cheated out of SMC by the VA making his/her TDIU into a combined 100%? Many Vets who are receiving compensation, know NOTHING about SMC, and thus would never realize they were ripped off!
  11. This brings up an interesting question..... If a person has been TDIU for say, 18 years, under PTSD, with a total combined rating of 90%, what happens when that person gets additional ratings that would put the combined rating at 100%? Do they "lose" the TDIU, so that SMC can't be awarded for the 100% plus 50% or 60%? Do they now "just" become 100% combined?
  12. Thank you Berta for your reply! I go for the CT on the 18th of this month. The mesh they used to repair the umbilical hernia the second time (didn't use mesh the first time) was Ethicon Marlex Mesh. This third time, they used a 15cm X 15cm Ethicon All Prolene Mesh with Sorbafix. I am extremely thin, so that 15cm X 15cm "patch" covers my entire abdomen. Had I known, before the surgery, that they would possibly make my entire abdomen mesh, I would NEVER have agreed to it, and told the most recent VA Physician just that! Not only am I having a problem in the left upper quad, but since the last hernia surgery, I have to be careful how much I eat, since any "over-eating" (taking that one extra bite) now causes pain. I can't afford to lose any more weight, and have been taking Boost/Ensure to try and keep the little weight I have. I'm down to 113lbs, and muscular (muscle weighs more than fat). I can't seem to gain fat, even losing the fat pads above the buttocks, in the hip area, (try taking injections without fat pads!), and this is causing me great concern. I've handled a lot of adversities, but for some reason, this one is really getting to me.
  13. In 1980, I had a laparoscopy done by U of Pa, paid for by the VA (they didn't have services for women at that time), for what was thought was an ectopic pregnancy. They also performed a D&C. I found out months later that I had been pregnant, a normal pregnancy, unfortunately, terminated by the D&C. In the late 1990's, I developed an incisional hernia, due to the laparoscopy. In 1998, I developed another incisional hernia in the same spot, this time they used mesh. Fast forward... 2000, the VA removed my gallbladder (yea!!). In May 2010, I had to have the mesh removed from the 1998 hernia repair, as it bunched up (painful), then had to have the SAME hernia repaired plus an incisional hernia from where the gallbladder was removed. Unfortunately, instead of just using mesh in those two separate areas, I now have one whole sheet of mesh covering my entire abdomen. What was suppose to be day surgery, turned out to be major surgery, with me being admitted for a few days. I now have to go and have a CT done as I've been having pain since the May 2010 surgery. The Doctor isn't sure if this mesh has folded over or what is happening. Now, my question.... can I claim compensation for any of this, and how would I go about it? I believe it would be an 1151, but would it be for hernias, the surgeries, pain?
  14. I do remember reading a case (I believe BVA) where the issue of the gun spreading Hep C was brought up, and awarded. I know for a fact that the guns weren't always sanitized between shots. The young lady, right before me, moved during her shot, and her arm started bleeding. The gun was NOT cleaned before I received my shot. They "shot" us as soon as we fully entered the doorway. I kept stepping back out of the doorway and had to be ordered to attention (I was needle shy, then seeing that girl get cut by the gun) for them to "shoot" me. I didn't see the gun cleaned before any of us were injected. The only thing I saw, was them "reloading" with new vials. They didn't even use alcohol to wipe our arms prior to the shots.
  15. I live 2 hours, one way, all back roads, from the VAMC. I was fee basis back in the 90's, but then my VAMC changed their policy and the only time I can use fee basis, is when the VAMC itself farms me out. There have been a number of times that I was in near accidents, due to snow or ice on the roads, driving to VA appointments!
  16. Rpwell01, I soooooooooo empathize with you! I suffered from Sept 1977 until May 2000 with my gallbladder. GET IT OUT! You will be such a happy camper once it's gone!!! Best of luck to you.
  17. This is exactly what I'm in the rating board for. VA dx'd me 1977 with collagen vascular disease (never told me, and if you remember, we were not allowed to see our medical records back then). I was discharged Aug 1976, dx'd Sept 1977, NEVER treated by VA for it. Turns out the "collagen vascular disease" was Lupus. My service records show gastrointestinal (plus was hospitalized in Nov 76 for gastric ulcer, GERD, and my Raynauds was recorded), and respiratory complaints, which have continued throughout the decades. I submitted evidence from the National Institute of Health, Mayo Clinic, etc., tying the conditions to Lupus. Had it not been for a private Physician, I would never have known I had Lupus. It took me many, many years, and a LOT of research to put the Sept 1977 medical dx's (collagen vascular disease, and polyclonal gammopathy) together, showing that I had Lupus then, and that the complaints while in service, were all related. To this day, the VA has never treated my Lupus, nor even acknowledged their dx's from 1977! Had I not requested all my medical records (when we were finally allowed to see them) in the late 1990's, I still would not have known of the diagnosis'! It will be interesting to see if they hold the "one year" rule to the letter, or if they actually look over the evidence!
  18. Lupus is presumptive within one year of discharge. If, you can go through his medical records, and show symptoms dating back (there are a LOT of symptoms as Lupus can affect any organ in the body, to include the skin), he can file for SC.
  19. The VA has no idea how to deal with us, and that's the biggest problem. They don't have a great track record with males who suffer from PTSD, and have no idea how to treat women suffering from PTSD. I, unfortunately, went through "therapy" back in the 80's, and discovered their methods SUCK. It took me almost a decade before I even spoke out, and found that the VA actually made the PTSD worse! You're right, they drag up the worse, all that you've put up on a shelf to try and forget, have you tell them all the details, maybe hand you some pills, and send you on your way. Not one therapist had military experience, so they could not understand the fear of reporting certain things, or how the military member (victim) could receive disciplinary action (damaging "Government Property") for being a victim! Back in the 70's I begged the VA to put me in touch with other female Vets, so that we could "talk" (group therapy). I even put money out of my own pocket to place ads in the newspapers, trying to find other female Vets. In the late 90's, one Vet Center I was involved with, finally agreed to "allow: a group of female Vets to meet. We had one or two group meetings, then every time we tried to meet thereafter, we would each be given different meeting times, told the group was canceled, etc., The female Veteran population has grown so much in the past 2 decades, and though the VA has made changes to try and accommodate us, they still have a LONG way to go. Feels like we're an experiment in the system!!
  20. Personally, from what I read, it looks like you are basically housebound, and hope that the RO sees the same!!
  21. My C&P for A&A was Nov 17, and still in decision stage, so now I know I still have a good wait. I was told it was normally 6 months, and since my claim went into the rating board early December, I figure I should hear something sometime in June/July....hopefully! My C&P exam showed vision at 5/200 or worse, both eyes, but I'm not SC for eyesight, unless they consider it part of the MS. I do have a caregiver, and in the past few years have paid out of pocket for caregivers. I'm hoping I get the A&A! Oh, I'm also through the St. Louis VARO
  22. Dear VA: I am an unemployable Veteran. Yes, I have some disabilities that I am receiving compensation for, but those disabilities are not the reason that I am unemployable. The reason I am unemployable is, because I have to spend the majority of my time learning Federal Regulations, learning medical terminology, researching laws/regulations, writing claims, attending C&P exams, writing NODs, filing appeals, etc. It has become a full time job, overtime at that, just trying to be granted that which I am entitled to. In addition to that full time job of obtaining that which I am legally entitled to, the stress of that job is causing me additional health issues, for which I will have to file claims for. I believe it has become a matter of the power of wills. Unfortunately for me, I am limited as to how many years I will be here, whereas you, the VA, has an unlimited amount of time (barring legislation disbanding you). You were here long before me, and have honed your delayment skills. I have only been here a short time, in comparison, and am still learning how far reaching your delay tactics reach. I refuse to give up, and will continue to fight the big battle until my dying breath. Hopefully those that follow, will find you weakened, if just a bit. Sincerely, A Disabled Veteran
  23. Carlie, I believe they do this to piss us off! I went to a military hospital, as an emergency, after a wasp sting (I'm anaphylactic). I received a letter from Fee Basis disallowing payment.... reasons given 1) You have to be a 100% disabled Vet (I am) 2) The service has to be for a life threatening emergency (it was) 3) I have to go to the nearest Federal medical facility (it was an Army hospital, FEDERAL). I actually had to file a NOD. Yep, yep, yep.... just to piss us off.a OMG, I just figured it out! They make us mad enough to hit someone, go to prison, then they cut our compensation! Sure does seem like it.........
  24. Wow, now that is awesome! Thank you for posting this!!!! Our own Congress isn't showing their Americanism, but the Navy Federal Credit Union surely is!
  25. I am so ANGRY! No, not because I'll have to wait longer for my claim decision (which I'm not happy about), but because friggin Congress will still get paid, have all their "entitlements", and it was just announced that troops WILL NOT be paid, new Death Benefits for fallen troops will not be paid, those troops that are moving will not get lodging vouchers, no moving reimbursements! I am soooooooooooooo ANGRY!!
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