aod0311

thanks for the replies. I will check into all that info. If anyone that goes to the evansville or marion hospital knows of a doctor I should ask for specifically, preferably one that actually cares let me know there name. Thanks again you guys and gals!

Well I am going to see an outside doctor for sure, as much as I hate too because I prefer staying off of programs like this i applied for medicaid and I'm fairly sure ill get it since I just have to live off the 974 the VA gives me. I've had multiple MRIs done of my spine and other than the mild protrusion and i think they said moderate scoliosis as well there is nothing they are seeing wrong with my spine. I've told them from the beginning of me going to the VA that my uupper back problem was musclulatory. I hurt it in boot camp and had problems all through my 4 years in the Marine Corps. I have already switch primary care doctors once at the Evansville clinic and have he has the same attitude towards me. They act like I'm faking things and I have literally been on 8 different medications for pain that had no effect. The last time I was working my back started hurting so bad I had to go to the emergency room. They prescribed me hydrocodine which is the only medicine that has given me any pain relief in the last three years. After they prescribed that I went to my primary care doctor, told him they prescribed it to me and told him it has been the only thing thats helped and i asked if we could try that. He said that that was drug seeking behavior and would not prescribe it. He told me that those medicines were basically out of the question and when i asked why he said that the only reason doctors in the private sector prescribe that is because its "big business", his exact words, then when i said that was bullshit he told me that if they prescribed me that now what were they going to give me when i was older and such. I told him i didnt care i was worried about right now and holding a job. The last time i was at work I literally had to take four pills to make it through an 8 hour shift. I don't get any real kind of buzz from them, i get slight pain relief, enough to be bearable, and i get hot and itchy so I'm seriously not looking for drugs. Just the ability to stand on my feet and work since I have no skills for a sit down job, I was in the infantry and on the company sniper team. So I'm pretty sure I'm like blacklisted by them or something, which is rediculous. Does anyone know of any organizations i can join that help with these issues. I also have PTSD and it really effects my ability to stay on track with all of this, to keep things organized, and my ability to understand and remember everything thats been said and such. So i kind of feel like i need my damn hand held through this disaster. I've already made the mistake of being very vocal about my thoughts of the VA to the doctors, nurses, and patient advocates and I feel like all of them blow me off. I highly doubt the director would be any different but I guess I can try that route. I'll just have to do some homework to figure out who he is and what to say I suppose. I do not know of any local lawyers that have handled the VA before so I guess I should call around. I honestly don't kknow if I even have a real case though I feel like I probably do considering how I'm treated every time I walk in the VAs doors.

Hi my name is Jeremiah and I have been going to the VA for about three years now since I was discharged. I have been going to the VA for problems in my back for about three years now and have gotten no where in figuring out what the cause is or controlling the pain associated with my problems. I am having a pretty good amount of pain in my upper back in between and just under my shoulder blades and I also have a mild protrusion in my L5S1 disc. I hurt my disc about a year ago and the VA just did a nerve conduction study a few weeks ago and they said the test results came back normal. I am still having pain down my left leg though. I just rehurt that disc on Wednesday by doing squats with a total of 95 pounds. The VA doctor said I was ok to do strength training and even though i didn't completely agree I thought i would try it to see if it would help resolve the problem in my upper back. I went and seen the primary care doctor the day it happened and they gave me an NSAID shot which helped a little. I went in today to talk to the Doctor at the pain management clinic in Marion IL. I had a literally four minute sit down with him and he rushed me out. I told him the amitriptiline i had been taking was doing nothing and he told me to stop taking it so i said ok. I told him my back was still hrting and that i rehurt my disc and asked for another scan to see how the disc was looking since its been over 8 months since i hurt it. he said "I don't see a reason to do another 1000 dollar scan" I said i didnt see what the price of the scan had to do with anything and he said "well it doesnt but i dont see enough evidence to run another scan at this point" I simply said ok with a look of disgust. I asked what he wanted me to do about my pain and back. He said to stay away from free weights if i was exercising and to stretch my back and to do aquatics. first of all i do stretch, second i dont have a pool to swim in nor one near. Then he dismissed me and i talked to the nurse. he didnt put me on any other type of pain medication and sent me to be treated by my primary care doctor. As i was talking to the va nurse she asked what he said and i told her that he basically said nothing and told her what i typed earlier in the above. I told her that I was going to the private sector to get another opinion and that the doctors at the va dont give a shit about their patients and that i thought the reason why is because their pay check doesnt depend on their quality of care nor the amount of patients they have. I am completely disgusted with this shitty excuse for a health care system and the patient advocates basically do nothing but try and talk to you. I have no idea what to do other than really going to the private sector which i have no medical insurance because i can't work. i cant even stand for longer than four hours without my back becoming so exhausted and painful that im hunched over like a ninety year old man, Im 26. What in the world can I do. I feel like this is neglect or malpractice or something along those lines. It is rediculous and I can't even express how dissatisfied i am. what a joke!!!!

Ok, my name is Jeremiah and I served four years in the Marine Corps as an infantryman and on a sniper team. I hurt my back in boot camp and tried getting it taken care of when I was in the school of infantry. When I went in front of the medical officer i was intimidated being a new marine and the officer basically made me admit that I was malingering. First question is there anything that could be done about that? Currently I have a 60% rating. I have 50% for ptsd, 20% for upper back problems, and 10% for tinnites. I recently found out that I have herniated discs L5S1 and sciatic nerve pain from it. I also seen in my records that they said i have mild skoliosis so I pput in a claim for both of those. I recently read the shedule for ptsd and i do believe it should be increased to the 70% mark because I have alot of the tings they said such as relationship problems, anger with limited ability to control it, problems focusing on things like college, motivation problems ugh. I feel like at 26 i shouldnt be having these problems but really im just looking for someone I can talk to about this process and figure out how to use the system, not work it, to get the benefits and things I would rate that I dont even know about. There seems to be a lot I just discovered on this site. Its hard to even get what i really am looking for written down but I guess I just need to talk to someone with more experience to help me figure out how the process works and what i need to do to get things in order. If someone would be willing to message me or talk to me that would be best. I would appreciate the help! Thanks guys for your service to our country and for further service to fellow vets! I have to say finding this website has been a big relief! Now if I can just get all the information i need sorted haha!