MarkInTexas

Welcome to Hadit, Raidertone. I'm still pretty much a rookie myself, but I'm sure one of the senior members will chime in soon with some great ideas or advice. Thanks for your service. Mark

Relpats, go to the main Forums page, scroll down to select a category you want to post a topic in, and then once in the category, near the top left hand side you should see a black rectangle that says "Start New Topic". Click that, and the ballgame should start. Mark

Inthewind, this is completely off topic, but........omg......what kind of cat is that in your profile pic? It stares through my soul! Mark

Ditto......... Mark

I had always read that in the absence of military service medical records that the VA "HAD" to give you at least the benefit of the doubt that a condition developed or was aggravated by military service. Kind of one of those "we lost it, so we have to pay up" kind of things. Guess I was wrong. Anybody know what the VA's rationale is when they have lost a Veterans service medical records in the system? Mark

Papa, as you know, I'm out of the Houston VARO also. I used Sentator Cornyn about a year ago when things just seemed dead in the water. After contacting him, the VA sent a "this is our status....same as last month" letter for a few months just to let me....and more importantly the Senator's office know that they were keeping me in the loop. And of course, the Senator's office has continued to monitor my case, sending me an update letter periodically, and even once a faxed copy of the VA's response to his office that they had scheduled me for a C&P. However, I have to say that nothing sped up, and I still sit in Gathering Evidence on ePeggy to this day. (I filed waaaaaaaayyyyyyy back on 06/19/2010). Most on here are probably right in that it only seems to delay things, and probably only needs to be used as a last silver bullet if nothing else works. Now if you have a close relationship with a Senator or Congressman, and know they will personally take an interest in things, then that might be different. A Senator or Congressman calling the VA personally, instead of a staffer, or worse still....a staffer's inquiry fax, might get things moving better. Otherwise, it didn't really work for me. You don't get an extra "push", and I doubt that there will be any increased rating just because somebody ......or their staffer.....is watching. That being said, I appreciate Senator Cornyn's office for at least trying to see what was up. I think I have more correspondence from them than I actually do from the VA. Mark

Reddit, after all this, they still can't find your service rercords? Or did they finally turn up? Wow. Mark

Sigh.......sending in evidence.....guilty.......attending a C&P.....guilty....twice......asking for a copy of my c-file........innocent! but I'm dumb because I should have done that at the onset.......sending in a 21-4138......guilty, guilty, guilty....x 25 or so.......adding dependents.....guilty.....(we had a newborn baby in Feb, 2011).......seeking help from congress critter......sigh.....guilty......and inquiring as to my status.......guilty x 20 or more........ I hope I get rated before I reach Social Security age...........I REALLY should have checked this site out first before filing my claims........sigh.....(one more sigh just because........) Mark

As for me, I foolishly logged onto this site for the first time AFTER I filed my initial claim with the VA. Since that time, and after a few weeks of kicking myself, I also became a "lurker". I have found a tremendous wealth of information thus far that has helped me to help substantiate my own claim, put my mind at ease, and quite possibly prepare for future battles in the event that the VA doesn't agree with my own personal rating beliefs. Although I don't personally know anybody here, I thank all for their input, wisdom and patience. I am often discouraged as well, sometimes from the long wait, sometimes for my own mistakes in the process, and even more importantly, just like all others that are rated on here, from my own conditions that I live with every day. I definitely see the wisdom in admonishing others against attacks. First, they really don't serve much purpose, since it is only text on a screen, and second bashing another veteran, caregiver or counselor only serves to discourage them from participating, with an end result being that vital information or advice is not provided to the many others that read this site daily. So in the interest of good spirit, and because I try to make a joke when I can. I hereby pledge to play well with others. Have a great night all. Mark

I've attached a flier for free counseling services to Veterans and their family members, sponsored by the Texas Veterans Commission and the Burke Center. This particular counseling is begin offered to Veterans and their families, located primarily in the East Texas area, but it's quite possible that Veterans in other parts of Texas may also have similar programs available to them. I haven't used these services yet, so can't qualify the value or quality, but they are being offered free of charge, and might help somebody in need. Mark MHMR East Texas Area Free Counseling.pdf

Howdy Truck. To get a premium account, you can go to your nearest VARO and complete a form, and they will upgrade you to premium status. This is what I had to do in Houston. I have also heard that you can get a premium account by calling a telephone number, and getting it activated over the phone. I didn't use that method. (Wasn't around when I activated mine.) But you might try that first. Thanks for your service. Mark

I'd have to agree with Johnjr. Adding additional SC conditions will slow things down a bit. I am guilty of the same thing back in October of last year. Basically, I had added a condition in midstream, and when checking the status of my case through IRIS, the representative noticed that I had a "new" case that had been just sitting there for a few months. He asked if I wanted to place it under my original filing date, or defer it until later as a new filing. I opted to go ahead and include if with my original list of SC claims. This caused that condition to be noted in my list of new claims, but for some reason the VA never sent the VCAA notice on the claim, and my whole case was held in limbo for months, until I talked to Peggy on the 1-800 number and the representative just happened to notice that it was there, and the VCAA hadn't been sent yet. (My American Legion VSO never noticed it.) Shortly afterward, I received a VCAA on the new claim, plus one more that the VA added on their own. (I still can't figure that one out.) So I am still waiting out there, but have to blame myself for causing some of the delay. You have to ask yourself if bundling the whole thing as one new claim is worth the extended amount of time/effort. Have a great week. Mark

Congratulations on your increase. And thanks for your service. I have a question. I'm not up to speed on fibromyalgia. Is that a viral infection? Mark

I'm hearing that a lot more and more, that the VA medical side is becoming more and more professional and caring. That is a wonderful thing, and hopefully it will begin to grow over into the benefits side as well. Mark

Does anybody know if there is a minimum distance for travel reimbursement to and from a C&P examination? Maybe like a 50 mile radius or something? Just wondering. Y'all have a great weekend. Mark

Congratulations, Reader! Hope that your other conditions are resolved in an affirmative rating for you as well. Thanks for your service, and I wish you good health and a long life. Mark

Matthew, first of all, welcome to Hadit, or as I like to think of it, the Decorated, Battle-Worn, Tattered and Torn, Hole in the Wall Gang. I'll leave it up to one of the learned Elders or one of the other members to answer that question. I didn't retire from the USAF, so not sure what your AB4 letters means by that statement. I'm sure, however, that somebody will comment very shortly. As for them listing conditions as "new claims", I'm not sure on that either. However, I can say that during my two years, and three months of waiting on my initial claim, that the VA has added a couple of "new claims" to my own list of conditions without me even listing them, and over time, even changed the names of them. I'm still in Gathering Evidence, so the coffee pot is still percolating. Good luck on your claims, and thank you for your service to our great nation. Mark

Bob, congratulations! I hope you live a long life, and that medical science advances to lengthen yours, and the many other Veterans whose lives have been shortened. Bless you, and thanks for your service to our country. Mark

I'm really just relating my own personal experience with the American Legion VSO located within a VARO. I could elaborate that our county VSO has alzeihmers, and could not help at all, but is really a nice guy that served his country back in the Korean War, but really can't help with claims or G.I. Bill information anymore though. He is funded by the county on a part-time basis. But I do know the difference between local, state and federal. As I mentioned, I haven't used the DAV yet, and can't speak for them, or any other VSO, so I'm not knocking them. And I should have specified those American Legion VSO's working within the interior perimeter of a federally-owned facilty utilized by the Department of Veterans Affairs as a Regional Office to provide services to veterans of the American military branches. However, I could be wrong. I read that in a book published by a pretty reliable source, but I do need to do a little fact checking prior to affirming that the VA funds VSO's within a VARO (and by this I mean not just salary funding, but office space, telephone, Internet, and other M&O) at least to a certain extent. I also don't believe that a VSO working within a VA facility actually gets a government check from the VA, and don't believe I said that. (Wait, let me check......nope, I didn't) But like I said, I could be wrong, and as always will definitely appreciate any insight or data that can show one way or the other, in an effort to understand the VA and these other VSO's. Next, I agree that I paid for the membership, and have paid for multiple years. My own fault, and I probably will do it again next year. I do this for a few reasons: 1. I do appreciate the American Legion's efforts to lobby the federal government in the interest of Veterans and active duty service members; 2. Although they provide VSO services for free, I was raised in the country, and worked my whole life for everything I have ever had, just like my father, and his father before him. This is the first time that I ever applied for assistance, and probably should have 15 years or so ago, but held out like many Veterans do. However, even though I have filed a claim, and have asked the American Legion to help, and they still are really just a way to access my information without using Peggy, or ePeggy, there's a small piece of me that hates the idea of a free lunch. So, I am paying the $35 a year as a token to help keep things moving for them, and hopefully for me, and all of the other Veterans out there. (That's just my own personal conviction. I'm not knocking the free VSO services, and never would. It's just how I am.) I think I also stated that I knew that American Legion VSO services were free, and that I don't have to pay a membership fee. (Wait...let me check again......yep, I did.) 3. I just love magazines that advertise comfortable shoes. And finally, as for Mr. John Richards, I have never had the good fortune to meet him, nor utilize his services, but am sure he's a great guy, and if the Good Lord shines on me, maybe he's available to help out a redneck country boy like me drive through the fog of the VA process. Peace out, Mark

Expect the distinct sound of crickets chirping......beyond that, nothing a whole lot more. I have used an American Legion VSO out of the Houston VARO for about a year now, and have received nothing from the American Legion (other than my annual membership dues renewal notice for $35, and of course the monthly magazine that advertises comfortable shoes, cell phones with like 5 buttons and of course, polyester pants that can pull up to your chest) Of course, you don't have to actually join the AL to receive VSO assistance. I kind of wondered about that until I learned that these VSO positions are funded with VA money, and from what I understand it's based on the numbers handled, and not necessarily success rates. So basically a 100 denied claims pays off more than 10 successful claims, and are a lot less work. The only correspondance I have received from regarding the AL, was a VA letter advising me that the AL was named my power of attorney, which I had done on my visit to the Houston VARO. Since that time, the VA cc's the AL on all correspondance to me, but I have never received a call from them, nor any information. I've had to file all my own documentation, and do all followups. I had tried multiple times to call them, and to be honest, when you can reach them, they can give you the same information as ePeggy, but without the hour long wait. Of course, quite often you'll find that these VSO reps are gone to conferences, in meetings, on vacation, out sick, at lunch, away from the office, on another line, etc. And every time I talk to my rep, it's like I'm reintroducing myself all over again, even though I sat in his office over a year ago. I have had a few suggestions from others to go to the DAV, or some other VSO. And I'm very tempted, but also tempted just to use the AL VSO as my call center until I get fed up, or until I reach some final conclusion to this roller coaster ride. One other thing that I read, but have not confirmed is that VSO's have quite often "worked deals" on Veterans claims with the raters. In other words, they utilize their power of attorney over your life to trade off claims that you might have valid evidence for in an effort to reach some compromise with the VA so they don't have to pay out as much, and the VSO gets to close out another "successful" case. The VSO's sell themselves as being useful to a Veteran because they are co-located in the VARO with the raters, etc., and that gives them an "in door" to accessing these mysterious beings to help a Veteran out on his/her claim. However, it looks like this may be a conflict of interest if there are deals being made over lunch, etc. Of course, if you are into magazines advertising comfortable shoes and nipple pants, the American Legion is for you. Mark

Berta, thanks for the information. The fact that utilizing some Internet research helped you on some of your claims that you've worked makes me feel better. Glad you reminded me as well......I used a medical report from Johns Hopkins Hospital as well in my array of evidence. I agree that using professional medical journal information, which is pretty much completely all online these days, and most of which is free, can definitely be helpful. As I mentioned earlier, I ran into several during articles and blogs out there. One Google search retrieves tons of stuff. However, I weeded things down to the professional accredited periodical information. I doubt that VA raters are interested in what bloggers say at the end of some opinion article or news release, so I made sure I kept away from that stuff. Also, I tried to print out the "printable version" if possible of most reports in an effort to clean it up into better readable text, and to also try to keep things from being cluttered with advertisements or links to other sites or similar articles. I always tried to keep the link to the journal on the page though, just in case somebody out there in VA land wanted to access the website to confirm what I had printed and sent. I'll let everybody know if this idea worked out in my case as soon as I know something myself. Take care. Mark

Thanks!

You know......I should have brought that type of documentation with me to my own C&P examination. However, I did send a large amount of information on my own conditions from the New England Journal of Medicine, the Mayo Clinic, Ohio State University, and a few other places, along with oncology records from my diagnosis, surgeries, treatment, etc. (One of my conditions is cancer secondary to another condition). The VA has it all, and even ePeggy shows that they received it. (I used VONAPP to send it, then sent another copy by U.S. Mail.......just in case.) I hope that they take all of this documentation into the the final equation. Although there is a wealth of information on the Internet from a gazillion different sources, I tried to stay away from submitting anything like blogs, or opinion sites, etc. I used excerpts from professional medical journals, and even a few from the WebMD website. I think I even used one from Oxford University on case studies regarding my own conditions. I'm still waiting though, so I'll keep you posted if any of those hooks caught a fish. Mark

Not that I want to make a serious thread into a comedy routine, but my compensation claim is so old, the file is made of papyrus, and it was sent off temporarily to the Houston Natural Science Museum because they thought it might be part of the Dead Sea Scrolls..................... Sorry, I couldn't resist. Mark

Thanks for the update. Is the Texas Veterans Commission a VSO, and if so, I guess I would need to "divorce" my American Legion VSO and sign power of attorney over to them. I wasn't sure if the Texas Veterans Commission was just the Veterans Department of the General Land Office here in Texas that handles Veterans' affairs. You don't happen to have a number for the Houston contact, do you? You make me feel a little better, knowing that they are making a harder effort in Houston to address those of us with claims over 24 months. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I read the story that was posted regarding the VA backlogs, with a pretty cool map showing each VARO and its status and backlog. I also read a couple of Houston Chronicle stories on backlogs and of the World War II 94 year old Veteran that is still hung up in Houston's VARO. Sad. Thanks again! Mark