gooz87

update to my original post....I received the BIG WHITE ENVELOPE with a decision letter and it is for 100% P&T!!! i was gone from the house all day yesterday from 0630 until 2200. when i got back last night, i asked my wife if i had gotten anything in the mail and she said that she forgot to check the mail. so i instantly became a bit anxious and went outside to check. i looked inside the mailbox and whadda you know? there it was. i was even more nervous about what was inside the envelope but it turned out to be great news. what a wonderful way to end an evening!!!!! thank you to everyone for your service, your part in helping me with advice and encouragement, and all the info i have gathered from Hadit.com. i guess i need to figure out what to do with all the benefits that come with this decision. once again, thank you all and God is good, all the time.

hello everyone, i am writing to say that i think i finally got 100% P&T. i checked eBenefits and the letter generator (AB8) reflects a new payment at the 100% rate. the commissary letter also states that i am entitled to compensation at the 100% rate and that this total disability is considered permanent. i am not scheduled for any further examinations. i also called the 1-800 # and i was told that i am now rated at the 100% rate with 2 retro payments dating back to july of 2011. can someone here give me some insight if this is true? i don't want to get too excited yet because i don't have that big envelope in my hand yet. i still feel a bit stressed out over this but hopefully it is good news. if it does end up being true, i would like to say thank you all for the advice that ya'll gave me in the past. it really did help me out along with cyber and phone stalking my congressman to get this thing moving. nevertheless, thank you and i look forward to any reply about this. God bless you all.

Notorious Kelly and Pete53, thanks for the replies to my questions. if you know of anything else, please let me know. pete53, i'm not totally following you on the issue of "You don't have to use Medicare once you get it 2 years after effective date." please explain a bit more. i will do the Medicare thing if need be but right now, i have tricare and i also use the VA. i use them as needed and in the same manner as as notorious kelly. thanks and i've gotta run. screaming 4 month old needs assistance! talk to you all soon!

hello everyone, i have a few questions that i need answers for and some guidance also. i was denied twice by the SSA and on the third time i was awarded ssdi benefits that take effect May 9th, 2012. what i need to know is the following: 1. will i be required to go on medicaid or medicare? how do i go about that if it's necessary? 2. will i not be able to use tricare prime anymore? 3. will my daughter be required to also use medicaid or medicare? 4. will she lose tricare as well? 5. what are the state benefits that i should look into? license plate, homestead tax exemption, stuff along those lines? 6. will i get the answers to these questions at the SSA appointment? i really don't know what i am doing so i would greatly appreciate any help and guidance that anyone could provide. once again, thank you all very much for you service and i look forward to the replies. gooz87, out.

71M10, I took the award letter in today and hand delivered it. i also got a signature, control number, and made sure it was taken care of and pushed forward TODAY. i still have the original and a copy of everything the DAV did for me. Thanks for the reply. gooz87

a little update to all on my SSDI process. i finally received my award letter this past Friday! i really was at the end of my rope and i was about to give up on the SSA AND THE VA because they take so long but i read all of the encouraging support offered to others so i just dealt with the wait. sorry for being away for so long and not replying to the posts but i had to get away with the wife for a little while. now that i know for sure that i will be receiving SSDI, should i take the award letter in and submit it as new evidence to my rate increase packet? if so, is there anything that i need to write, any forms, anything that i need to know before submitting this??? please help me outhere because i think i can see a light flickering at the end of the tunnel so i am TERRIBLY nervous now. will this SSA decision be used as evidence for me to be considered TDIU or P&T? just asking cause i don't know. well, thank you everybody here on hadit.com and i appreciate the support and guidance.

thank you for all the wonderful congratulations from everybody. i really was at the end of my rope and i was about to give up on the SSA and the VA because they take so long but i read all of the encouraging support offered to others so i just dealt with the wait. sorry for being away for so long and not replying to the posts but i had to get away with the wife for a little while. now that i know for sure that i will be receiving SSDI, should i take the award letter in and submit it as new evidence to my rate increase packet? if so, is there anything that i need to write, any forms,??? will this SSA decision be used as evidence for me to be considered TDIU or P&T? just asking cause i don't know. well, thank you everybody here on hadit.com and i appreciate the support and guidance.

hello everyone, i felt like sharing a bit tonight so here it goes. last year i filed for SSDI at the urging of most vet friends and thinking that being 90% SC'd i stood a decent chance of getting a favorable decision. well it breifed well but was i ever wrong. i was denied twice with no questions asked and they denied me both time in 2-3 weeks of each appeal. i stuck with it and on my third and final try i think i may receive benefits. i got a letter in the mail today telling me that if i am a new beneficiary, please make a password AFTER i get my award notice or receive my first payment. well i didn't know what to make of this so i called (plus i didn't want to get my hopes up) and low and behold....the representative told me that i was going to start receiving benefits as of 09 May 2012. i asked if it was me and she said yes, it ws me they were refering to. now i just have to add my daughter who was born after i filed for benefits and i should be good to go. if anyone has any input on what i need to do from here on out, what i should/shouldn't do, things to be on the look out for, whatever it may be, please let me know. thank you very much and have a good evening. God is good, all the time!

hello everybody. i hope you all are doing well. i have a small update in my process. i applied for SSDI when i filed for a rate increase at the VA last year (Sept/Oct timeframe). I was denied twice by the SSA but today i received a letter from them which is for a me to get a password request code. i didn't know what to make of it so i called the SSA, spoke to a representative, and was subsequently informed that it is true, i will be receiving benefits starting 9 May 2012. all i can say is that this came to me as a surprise but a very welcomed one, nonetheless. i now have to add my daughter who was born after i initially filed. i am grateful and thankful to God that this has come to fruition. one question that i have now is this - i have a rate increase packet (started July 2011) in the process right now asking for an increase from 90% to 100%. should i take this SSA decision to the VA once i get it and add it to my packet? next - if i do take it in and add it, will it start the process all over for me or should i just let that run its course and add it if i get denied? what to do, what to do? please send some knowledge and guidance my way. thank you all for the help and your wisdom. God bless you all.

i will keep what you said in mind and act accordingly. i will kep y'all updated with the progress and outcome as soon as i know something. thank you very much for the heads up. gooz87

i think i might be sick if i get a reduction. you just put some kinda fear in me. that would be awful. i hope it doesn't turn out that way for me.

i may be mistaken in saying that i turned in a form for p&t. i do know that i filled out some form requesting p&t, it was a 21-526b. i apologize if my terminology is off but i am new to this VA stuff so please forgive me. i am flying blind here in this VA process because i really didn't have any idea what i was doing and didn't know anybody to help me out. first i filed for the TDIU and then p&t. i did this, like i said, at the urging of the VA rep and the DAV rep. i have this haunting suspicion that i went about it the wrong way but i don't know. all i can do now is hope for the best and pray about it. once again, thanks for the help. gooz87

i have already submitted the VA form for TDIU and then at the urging of the VSO and the DAV rep, i submitted the VA form for p&t. i started this process back in july of last year and finished all of my c&p appointments this pat november. they both suggested that i file for p&t and yes, that is all i have to use as evidence - the VA C&P's. i can always hope that it works. if you have any ideas, suggestions, advice, guidance, connections, or info on getting an IMO i would greatly appreciate it. the DAV rep told me that i should get one asap in order to help solidify my request. thank you very much. gooz87

Hello everybody, i would like for some opinions on the following reviews. i am asking for a rate increase so i went through my c&p's again. i just recieved a copy of my general med reveiw for TBI. i have a 30% rating for that but it is listed as POST CONCUSSIVE HEADACHE OF THE TENSION TYPE DUE TO MILD TBI (CLAIMED AS MIGRANES). at the end of the c&p report from 11/01/2011 the doctor states "It is in my opinion that the patient's headaches are LESS likely due to mild traumatic brain injury and MORE related to post-traumatic stress disorder. Exspressed some other way, the patient's headaches are LESS LIKELY THAN NOT caused by mild traumatic brain injry." can someone decipher this for me and tell me what it means? what is the doctor implying with this statement? also, i am currently rated at 50% for PTSD and after my most recent c&p for PTSD (10/18/2011), the doctor there stated in her final remarks " the vet's ptsd renders him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainfull employment." could someone help me out on what that statement means and how would a review board look at BOTH RECOMMENDATIONS? is this good, bad, or indifferent to me maybe being able to get an increase? thank you all very much and have a good day. gooz87

jmack, i would guess that i need a mental health IMO doc. maybe a doctor that deals with range of motion issues too because i have some issues there as well. berta, carlie, jmack, i just recieved a copy of my general med reveiw for TBI. i have a 30% rating for that but it is listed as POST CONCUSSIVE HEADACHE OF THE TENSION TYPE DUE TO MILD TBI (CLAIMED AS MIGRANES). at the end of the c&p report from 11/01/2011 the doctor states "It is in my opinion that the patient's headaches are LESS likely due to mild traumatic brain injury and MORE related to post-traumatic stress disorder. Exspressed some other way, the patient's headaches are LESS LIKELY THAN NOT caused by mild traumatic brain injry." can someone decipher this for me and tell me what it means? what is the doctor implying with this statement? also, i am currently rated at 50% for PTSD and after my most recent c&p for PTSD (10/18/2011), the doctor there stated in her final remarks " the vet's ptsd renders him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainfull employment." could someone help me out on what that statement means and how would a review board look at BOTH RECOMMENDATIONS? thank you very much for all of the help and advice from everyone. you guys and gals are the absolute best resource for vets to turn to. God bless you all and thank you for your service.