donna68

Sleep foundation . Com has a good write up about the association between OSA and PD or Parkinsons.. Type in key words parkinsons and sleep disorders. If you get a medical opinion from a neurologist and or pulmonologist than you are golden. Good luck!

Parkinsons is a minimum of 30%. They can then break out your secondary conditions, ie-constipation, depression, loss of smell.......... and give you additional % for them. The statement about being unable to work may trigger them to invite unemployability -100%, even though you generally need one condition at at least 40% and one or more combined with the 40% total of 70%. If they dont invite it you can ask for extra schedular unemployability for 100%. Good Luck!

Not topical. Sorry. If you are on topical and have 0% exposed and total its a 0% evaluation. Topical does not warrant compensation, its non-compensable.

Yes it is true that IBS and GERD are rated together and you should be granted the higher evaluation. You can put in a claim for GERD or an increase for IBS. The increase will probably be more effective. If you have alternating constipation & diarrhea with moderate symptoms you will warrant a 30%.

Diagnostic code 7806 means a skin condition (dermatitis) or other skin condition. Its just an identifing code. If you had migraines they would use diagnostic code 8100, tinnitus would be 6260. As far as steroids, yes if you are on pills you warrant a higher evaluation, creams/topical dont warrant more than 0%. Unless you have more than 5% coverage exposed. Prolonged use of steroids is not recommended and very rare a doctor will prescribe oral steroids for 6 weeks, because it is harmful to your organs. But topical use may warrant a clothing allowance stipen.

This may have already been posted, but just in case it wasnt. I would ilke to clarify something. First of all lumbago is a symptom and not a condition per VBA, so if you got service connected for lumbago, it is wrong, but thats not uncommon. Secondly, yes you are entitled to a separate rating for radiculopathy if either extremity warrants a 10% or higher other wise its lumped into the low back diagnosis since its a 0%. The lumbar spine is a joint or spine condition which for VBA rating purposes includes the thoracic spine, DDD, DJD, arthritis and any other lumbar or low back joint issues and radiculopathy is a nerve condition, hence they are indeed separate. It is common to have cervical spine problems when you have lumbar spine issues, so consider claiming cervical spine secondary to lumbar spine if your neck actually hurts. The same for hips.

Great rating! Every VA is different when it comes to future exams. If they didnt indicate you will have a future (5 yr) exam then you will not be at risk of decrease. The conditions that they can and/or may propose to decrease are those that are 20& or higher and can get better over time which inlcudes maxilary sinusitis, headaches, lumbar spine, but not sleep apnea. As far as the member saying your mental rating at 10% is low, it is likely that your mental and cognitive disorder symptoms overlap and they cant use the same symptoms for two deifferent conditions, so they are supposed to separate the symptoms out and give you the better evaluation overall.

There is a genetic research company doing studies on Parkinson's along with other conditions. Currently they are providing FREE DNA testing for people diagnosed with Parkinsons. Visits www.23andme.com/pd/codereq and fill out the information requested and the company will send you a DNA kit free of charge. Once you provide your DNA they will test it and then will provide you with feedback.

Thurston511, You need to be proactive and go for what you deserve. Apply for SSDI and TDIU, and any other benefit you feel you deserve. Either you apply and get the benefit or you don't. If you dont apply, you will never get the benefit. If your records are with VAMC or private send a request for copies of them, you should keep copies of all evidence you have. If private records show that your condition was worse, VBA will go back one year. If the VAMC doctor 5 years ago determined that your condition was worse than a 50% and noted symptoms that warrant a 70% or 100%, VBA is required to take all federal records in consideration when granitng an increase, and if your VAMC records show that you were unemployable or a 70% 5 years ago they have to grant your new % back to when they had evidence that your condition worsened.

Definitley apply for SSDI. I also suggest that you send in a VA Form 21-4138 claiming an increase for his service connected conditions and claiming individual unemployability (whether he has a 60% or a 40% plus another % to equal 70% or not). If you can get a medical opinion saying the restless legs or periodic limb movement and sleep apnea are due to medications he is taking for the PTSD, put in a claim for those conditions secondary as well. Night terrors and sleep impairment are symptoms of service connectable conditions but they are not actual disabilties. Also, if he injured himself due to symptoms of PTSD, put in a claim for those conditions as secondary. If you experiencing a financial hardship due to his job loss also consider putting in for a financial hardship to expedite your claim. VA's speed with handeling of financial hardships varies from one location to another.

Ratings or evaluations for Axis I mental disorders is based on the same criteria no matter what the mental illness is except eating disorders. So whether you have PSTD, depression or anxiety disorder, all of them or just one of them, if they grant service connection for all of them, you are evaluated based on symptoms, your level of functioning and your GAF score. So if you have symptoms from a higher evaluation than 30% (below), definitely put in for an increase. Currently, the new generated text system seems to be giving higher evaluations than the traditional version, so its a good time to put in for an increase and a low GAF score seems to have more weight than in the traditional ratngs. General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders: Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name .......................... 100 Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships ........................................................................................... 70 Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships ........................ 50 Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events) ........................................................... 30

Georgiapapa, Applying for a MH condition now or waiting can have different outcomes. If you apply now, it could hold up your claim but the good thing is you will also get you a higher rating. As far as the PTSD, it is an axis I disorder, so when they gave you an axis I diagnosis, if you had PTSD at that time it would have been included in the axis I diagnosis. Based on your symptoms, you would rate at about a 50% for adjustment disorder secondary to your multiple myeloma. One thing to investigate is (and Im not totally sure about this) but I recall hearing that since VA must review VAMC records when making their decision on all claimed conditions, and since the VA doctor said your adjustment disorder is secondary to your multpile myeloma, then VA may have to honor the date of your multiple myeloma claim and consider the mental condition secondary based on the multpile myeloma or MH diagnosis, which ever came second, because technically the evidence is already in their posession and the opinion that it is secondary was already provided. Another thing you can consider is send in a VA Form 21-4138 just inquiring about the status of your claim and then add a note like "I am following up on my claim for ___, the aniticipation or long wait for my rating decision is making my anxiety worse". Once you do that, then you have just created an ambiguous claim for anxiety and hopefully they will miss tand not do the development for it (which is what holds up yur claim), then when you get your multiple myeloma rating you put in the claim for anxiety and adjustment disorder secondary to multiple myeloma and then they have to give you the effective date of the 21-4138 you sent in asking about the status of your claim. Sounds twisted, but you are not being dishonest. Hope this helps and isnt confusing. Donna

It seems like San Diego VBA deals with things quite differently. If the quick start department receives a congressional inquiry or a financial hardship case the case gets rated quite quicky, like within a few weeks of receiving the letter from the congressman's office or the documentation that proves a finacial hardship. San Diego VBA also seems to be alot more pro veteran than many other VBA's. Unfortunately, their "quick start" case are back up 6 to 12 months.

There are key things that the rater will input into the evaluation builder to generate an evaluation or percentage. The key items I see in your examination that they will enter into the system are: 1) a mental condition has been diagnosed (major depression) the specific diagnosis doesnt matter as long as its an Axis I, which it is. 2) GAF score 53, which means moderate impairment 3) panic attacks weekly 4) reduced reliability 5) suicidal ideations from what I see, you will get a VA rating of 50% at a minimum and possibly a 70% Even though you had mild memory problems the system gives the choice of short term AND long term memory impairment so since yours is recent and not long term, they may not choose that symptom. If the examiner had said yes to deficiencies in occupational and social functioning you would rate at a 70% Hope this helps!

kkarlson Did they try Concerta? VA doesnt usually use it but they can get special approval to order it if your doctor demands it. Its my understanding that its less addictive and doesnt have the amphetamine/irritability affect. As far as the personality disorder, I may not have been clear. What I was saying is if the VA doctor diagnosis an Axis I of bipolar disorder and and Axis II of a personality disorder and concludes that the Axis I disorder is due to the Axis II disorder, the VA can deny your claim for service connection. I have seen it happen. As far as someone recommending that you not to tell the VA you have a personality disorder, I agree that providing evidence that doesnt help your case isnt in your best interest, but it is important to realize that if they do a VA MH exam (which is highly likely) and you truely have a personality disorder, the VA MH clinician will more than likely identify that you have one because unfortunately personality disorders are hard to hide. You have presumption of soundness in your corner. If you havent already, try and look it up and read it.