Ricky

Boy I messed that one up! Sorry Sbrewer, I thought you wanted the whole spill and not just what the letters stood for. Thanks Vike for pulling my head out of my rear. ( was typing my reply, I guess as Vike posted his as I saw no posting from Vike before I took a stab at it.)

Yep they read them and use them. How else do you think they know how to get the next C&P doctor to write his opinion? After all when it comes to evidence---------med notes/opinion by NP VS med notes/opinion written by DOCTOR = rater decision that NP evidence is not probative since he is not expert MD. Med opinion written by MD is highly probative, therefore, medical evidence of record is weighted against veterans claim, claim denied. hahahahahaha sorry guys I'm just feeling froggy tonight. Meds are really working on the ole brain!

I am glad the veteran got his claim approved for it should have been approved. However, if the judge made such a determination that Gulf War Service + IBS - nexus = approval he was wrong. He was also wrong to provide that a diagnosis of IBS precludes the approval of the claim under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1117; 38 C.F.R. § 3.317. 3.317 spells out that IBS is applicable in this situation. It is plainly stated there cause in the begining VA was erronoulsy denying claims of this nature cause the disease was "diagnosed" and this was not the intent of congress. Oh well, like I said this has been a great post and in the end this veteran got his just dues - claim approved. Thank God there is some justice left in the world.

I think we all care. However, this is just another situation where ole Sec of VA Nick will run to congress and say "don't worry gentlemen I have it under control". Congress will recess their special commission they set up to take a look at the incident to go skiing with their family and as they leave the room they will pat ole Nick on the back and say "God Bless you Nick for looking out for our veterans." Upon return from their ski trip they will convene and say "you know ole Billy over at GAO does not have anything to do. Lets put him on this issue with ole Nick cause they both need to take a golf vacation." While ole Billy and Ole Nick play golf they will discuss how they can screw the taxpayer out of more money and upon their return - Ole Billy will have a special report writing team to produce a report that says the GAO found the reason for the loss was that too many veterans were filing friviolus claims so Ole Nick over at the VA needs another 20 billion dollars. Congress will look at the report and call Ole Nick back in. Ole Nick will enter the meeting crying and testify that the GAO report was on spot and he commends the GAO for their untiring efforts to help protect the "good veterans" of this country. Congress will respond with God Bless you man for such a great job, here is your trip ticket for another 20 Billion dollars to spend on your earmark progams within the VA. However, we don't have any more Social Security Funds to steal from the public, so just take it out of the veterans health care and compensation budget................................. as they all leave the meeting hand in hand they take just a second to sign a bill that increase the salary of ole Nick, ole, Billy and of course themselves. Now guess what the vetean got? AND THE WONDERFUL CIRCLE GOES ON. Yep we care - but if you can not get them held accountable for the death of veterans, do you really think anything will be done about a little data loss? JMHO

A person who is so disabled by his condition that there is no way he can seek, obtain and hold meaninful employment, therefore, his disability rating is base upon that fact and the VA is allowed to pay that person at the 100 percent level regardless of the true rating authorized in the disability rating system. That is my understanding.

Switching between the editors would be fine. However, it will not even allow me to do that! Oh well guess I could add my own symbols and text such (ricky's smiley face :-) ) Ha! looks like it works to me what do you think hahahahahahahaha

Stretch - my problem is that none of the buttons will work. They will not let you click on them at all.

When you speak of plan are you talking about the drug plan? If so my mother-in-law went with the AARP one and it seems to work well for her. She is not on many medications so that may be a factor.

As I type my posts I can not use any of the functions such as inserting a pic, changing the font size, color, style, can not use the bold, italic or underline functions etc.............(no smiley faces). Any ideals on what to do. Thanks Ricky

Rick - just wanted you and all to know that I am sorry for jumping the gun. Sometimes my disability causes such a reaction, just ask my family. I was childish and should have not taken your post as an attack on me cause it was not. My dementia sometimes makes me think the whole world is out to get me. Bottom line is there is no excuse for my words or actions directed towards you and I offer my sincere apology to you my friend. For those who are wondering what this is about, it is not even worth covering in this post or mentioning the post that it is in reference to. Just take my word, I acted like a child. I know what I am doing in such situations but still can not control my actions so there are a lot of I am sorry's that I must go through on a daily basis. The next time I get into one of these moods I will try my best to simply turn off the computer for I love all of the Hadit family and respect their opinions. A lot of my disability claim has been awarded because of the great help I have received form this site and the great people that are on it. Thanks a million Ricky

rdawg - I agree with you that the judge is wrong. I am not saying that you have to have an inservice association. From my understanding of my reading of the BVA decision you posted the vet in his original claim tried to say his IBS was service connected under the laws covering GW vets cause he had had inservice symptoms of IBS and now has been diagnosed with IBS. The BVA said nope you symptoms in service were related other diagnsoed medical conditions and there is no medical evidence of record that says your current diagnosis is related to your GW service. If it began in service, without being the result of another medical diagnosis then it would be a direct connection. Even if you had GW service they would still probably award it on the basis of connection cause they don't like to award stuff on a presumptive basis if they can get around it (thats another story and has to do with future law). In the case of GW service presumtion you still have to meet the requirements that it be diagnosed, be at a 10 percent level, be chronic, occur during the presumptive period and NOT BE ATTRIBUTED TO ANY KNOWN CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS. That is why the nexus is needed. You can not simply file a claim, state you are a GW vet and now have IBS so the IBS is service connected. The VA will not allow it nor will the law. All claims must have a nexus. The only way to establish the nexus is through medical evidence. Now when you file your claim the VA will schedule you for a C&P. If the C&P doc says that your IBS is at least likely as not the result of your service in the GW then you are in. If not the claim will be denied and you will have to get your own medical evidence. GW claims are the same as all others to include those that are covered under the presumptive rules. The presumptive rule simply allows the VA to SC connect certain disabilities to a vets service if the medical evidence of record provides a nexus. Without the presumptive rule, if the vet had no evidence of in service diagnosis or continued sypmtoms of a disease and then was diagnosed with that disease 6 years later he is probably out to pasture by himself if he is not able to get some very very strong IMO's. The presumptive rule just makes it a little easier. So I have to disagree with you on the nexus issue good buddy. Not arguing or fighting just providing my honest opinion. This has been a good post and is what Hadit is all about. I still love all of you bunches. hahahahahahaha

John's Wife - Hello. FIBRO is an approved rated disability. We are talking about it being awarded on a presumptive basis for serving in the Gulf War.

Rdawg - forgot to post - I ain't Berta and never will be as good as her, but I think the rating issued will stand as there is no nexus to his gulf war service my friend so as to the CUE issue my opinion is that it is dead. This vet in the ruling needs a doc that will provide that his current IBS is tied to his GW service. His IBS type symptoms in service (ie..diarrhea) are usless to a claim for presumption under the GW laws. Each one of them was determined to be a result of head injuries, acute gastroenteritis, viral infections etc...... therefore, they are not due to an undiagnosed Illness nor were they chronic as they resolved with the resolution of each of the above diagnosed illnesses so his attempts to use those in service symptoms in support of his current post service diagnosis of IBS are worthless. Once again, since he now has a diagnosis of IBS he will have to have a doc say that the IBS is associated with his gulf war service in order to succeed. Basically what the doc is now saying yep he does have symptoms of constipation, diarrhea, stomach distress etc.... but I can not find and medical cause, therefore, my diagnosis is IBS. This is right down the GW presumptive rules but you gotta have a doc say the IBS is at least as likely as not due to the GW service. I know I keep beating a dead horse here, but trust me on this one. JMHO

Ok lets get our definition figured out here. This is what the reg says: "medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illnesses ----- that are defined by a cluster of signs or symptoms -------- such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia or irritable bowel syndrome Ok look at how the statement reads when you break it down and really look at it - Medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illnesses ----- The medical definition of IBS, CFS, and Fibro according to Dorland and all other authoritive medical experts is - a medically UNEXPLAINED CHRONIC MULTI - SYMPTOM ILLNESS --- then they go on to say THAT ARE DEFINED BY A CLUSTER OF SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS-----this makes them an unexplained illness NOT A SYMPTOM. The medical community provides that each of the above are defined by clusters of signs and or symptoms ---- THEY ARE DEFINED BY-----NO WHERE IN THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY WILL YOU FIND THAT THEY ARE SYMPTOMS....... THEY ARE UNEXPLAINED ILLNESSES THEMSELVES THAT ARE DEFINED BY CLUSTERS OF SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS..... Now with that said their inclusion into the CFR was because GW vets were complaining of symptoms such as constipation, runny bowels, frequent bowel movements. Based upon these SYMPTOMS they were being diagnosed with the ILLNESS OF IBS. Once they received the diagnosis of IBS, the VA was saying sorry buddy, I know that you have all of these bowel problems but your doctor diagnosed you with IBS. IBS is a diagnosed illness so you do not meet the requirement of an unexplained illness cause your bowel symptoms have now been given a medical diagnosis of IBS. REMEMBER the VA rating is for UNDIAGNOSED ILLNESS not Unexplained Illness. Due to the unexplained nature of IBS, Fibro and CFS congress wanted them to be accepted under the Undiagnosed heading since they all stem from mutli-signs and or symptoms which a hugh amount of GW vets suffered from such as multiple joint pain, fatigue, bowel problems etc..... Same goes for Fibro and CFS. Go to the doctor with the SYMPTOMS of joint pain, tiredness, muscle weakness etc.........If the doc can not find any reason for the SYMPTOMS displayed (such as a cold, infection, cancer etc.....) the he will eventually provide the diagnosis of FIBRO or CFS. Bottom line is IBS, FIBRO and CFS are UNEXPLAINED ILLNESSES PER the American Medical Community with multi-symptoms such as runny bowels, constipation, or roving joint pain, muscle stifness/soreness, tiredness, aches etc...... If you want to win a claim such as this and you have been diagnosed with an unexplained illness such as IBS you must have an doctors statement that says it is at least as likely as not that the IBS is due to your GS service. P.S - Vike- Yes sir you are right. Joe the rater don't really care he just does his job as he is instructed to do by his supervisor. But you can bet you a double s that the management of the RO who is owned and operated by old Sec Nic himself does. The RO management is the one with the big thumb. At performance apprisal time this big ole thumb is the one that will either sign the paperwork for ole Joe the Raters quality step increase and yearly bonus which causes a check to be spit out by the ole government finance system or squash the he double l out of him until he can't breath. So in reality he does not give a crap less about what congress or anyone else says, but when Mike the Ro manager says "you will do this Joe" you can bet ole Joe is all ears.

Good luck with the claim and getting treatment with your medical issues. Knock them dead! Oops I did not really mean that the way it sounded. Please forgive me Mr. VA guys.

If you provide the exact wording in the reasons and basis for the denial of the I/U there are many here that can help you.

Vike stated it correctly as usual. Your post is a little confusing but nothing that can not be over come. In my opinion, if this is a new issue, based upon what your have posted so far, I feel that you have very little chance of prevailing. This is based upon the fact that you said "you hid" the symptoms due to your desire to continue your service. There would have to be something in your service medical records in order to claim service connection unless as Vike stated you are going for PTSD in which you will need some traumatic incident to use as the stressor, or a disease that is presumptive and I know of none of the mental codes that are presumptive. My second issue is with the letter. The doc's statement of "there is no doubt in my mind" does not really mean much in VA claim talk. The next issue is - "the work environment contributed adversely to the individual's psychological condition" what is meant by this? The only reference to the job that I see is that it was taxing. All employment in reality is taxing. It must state what is taxing - did you work in a morgue? if so then that could cause mental issues but it would have to discussed by the doc in the letter. I hope you see where I am going here. The bottom line is that I think the letter is non-probative. It does not provide the required 51 percent statement, there is no discussion as to the elements of your job enviornment that would explain the doc's statement and there is no medical rational provided by the doc to justify his opinion. Sorry

Vike, maybe I do not understand what you are saying but I think you are wrong. GW presumptions for undiagnosed illness include " the multi-symptom illness of IBS, Chronic Fatique syndrome and Fibro. I understand the point that if the doc says you have IBS then it is a diagnosed illness. However for the purposes of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1117; 38 C.F.R. § 3.317 the intent of congress was to add these diagnosed items to the list as they can arise from an unknown etiology. You do not have to have an undiagnosed illness of a body system that results in one of the three. You simply have to be diagnosed with one of the three and have the doc not know what the etiology of them are. In doing so he is supposed to say diagnosis: Chronic IBS of unknown etiology, therefore it is at least as likely that the IBS, CFS OR Fibro is related to the veterans service in the Persian Gulf. Your thinking is why a lot of GW vets have such a hard time in getting claims through (not saying bad things about you buddy). When most raters review the claims they see "due to undiagnosed Illness" then they see the words IBS, CFS, FIBRO and they say sorry dude, IBS,CFS, Fibro is an accepted medical diagnosis - denied. Believe me I have seen many just like this. They get overturned by BVA but the vet has been put through hell for 2-3 years just because the rating officials do not or do not want understand the regulations. If you will research the issue you will see that the apathy by the VA/raters on these claims stem from the fact that the VA fought the inclusion of the 3 diseases into the undiagnosed category because in 80-85 percent of the medical diagnosis for these the etiology is unknown. Don't forget we guys are going through the same thing the VN vets had to go through for many many years so the claims are simply hard to win at the RO level. And yes the first denial by the RO results in the dropping of about 40 percent of the valid claims for GW guys. The other side of the coin is that some GW guys will attempt to file initial claims that contain the senerio that you stated. They have some unknown illness of the gastero system that has resulted in IBS along with other issue such as vomiting etc....... Within the medical community and VA the IBS is a diagnosed illness. Although it is unknown what is going on in the belly the gastero system is the cause of the IBS. I know it is confusing but that is the way it is. I have personally seen BVA denials of undiagnosed illness along with IMO's from civilian docs saying so. Another example is that it is UNKNOWN why certain injections, oil smoke etc.... Bottom line here is that a reference to anything in the medical report will prompt a denial for "undiagnosed illness". The over all bottom line is that for these three to be SC'ed due to undiagnosed illness, it is a must that the C&P doc or the civilain doc if you are seeking your own IMO says IBS, CFS or Fibro of an unknown etiology, therefore it is as least as likely that they are due to your service in the Persian Gulf. No if's, but's or anything else that is the black and white of it all. I would suggest that if you are a GW vet or you are trying to assist one you check out the American Gulf War Association (http://www.gulfwarvets.com). They have a web board dedicated to GW Vets. Just like on Hadit there are old guys that are smarter than me who have an excellent hanlde on GW claims.

At least they discussed the evidence. GWS claims are hard. They are not supposed to be however, that is just the way it is. I think this is what they are saying: Undiagnosed Illness: What they are looking for is a doctor to say that he is unable to establish the etiology of the IBS therefore, it is at least as likely as not that the IBS is related to his GWS. It does not look like the C&P did this nor does he have an IMO that does so. Therefore, the IBS is a diagnosed illness. Same as the requirements for an AO claim in that just cause you have been diagnosed with DMII does not mean that VA will automatically SC it. You must still have some medical authority to state that it is service related based upon your exposure to AO. Looks like a bad C&P to me. If they and the doc new that the claim was for undiagnosed illness due to GWS then the doc should have been required to and should have commented on the etiology. The only evidence discussed that spoke of the etiology is the hired gun they used to opine against the award of the claim. This is a case of the wolf eating the chicken. They saw a weak claim, failed to properly assist and grabbed the chicken and ate it before the poor thing new what was coming. The direct service connection issue is the same from what I read in the full order. It appears that his symptoms were attribitued to several different causes which make them not meet the continuity of symptomology nor a chronic disability. At least that is the read I get from the full order. Bottom line is he can go to the court for failure to provide a proper C&P (duty to assist) or restart the claim with a good IMO. Although 99 percent of the time the RO will ignor the IMO at least the BVA will reconize it which usually results in an approved claim. jmho

Berta - it was listed on the evidence page as "Letter from Lynn Boyer". However, that was it. In the body of the rating decision and SOC there is NO discussion of any evidence whatsoever. It simply states only the information that I provided to the C&P doc such as "you state that on 20 Jan 2005 you were treated for the symptoms of stroke yada yada yada......Service connection for CVA with residuals of dejerine roussy is awarded at 10 percent. The claim for the initinal 100% x 6 months was denied because there was no evidence of an active process. Not even a mention of the objective findings of the C&P doc which fully supported the date of the stroke and the residuals which should have continued with a rating of 100 percent. Based upon the inadequate reason and basis I do not have any idea what they need to prove the claim. The way I read 38 CFR is that if you have a stroke then it is rated at 100 X 6 months, then re-evaluated for the rating of the residuals. Most rating decisions I have seen will at least say "Dr. Boyer stated in his medical decision yada yada yada, however, other records of evidence provide that etc........ At least that gives you some idea as to what you are up against. In my Nod and form 9 the only thing I could do was attack the inadequate reason and basis and then present arguments as to what I thought maybe on the rating officials mind at the time of the rating. Boy, the only thing I know is I am about to go crazy. Although I have requested in writing six times since Jan 06 to have a meeting with the DRO, the latest response from IRIS about my request is "we have received your request for a hearing with a memeber of the board via video teleconference. You are number 224 on the list so you should expect to have the hearing in approximately 18-24 months." Not a damn word about the DRO hearing. I do not understand this for as I said I have six green cards where they signed for the blasted letter requesting the DRO hearing and over 30 IRIS inquiries where I have inquired about it and not ONE WORD in response to the question posed which was: "This inquiry is being submitted to determine the status of my written requests submitted on (multi dates). This written inquiry was submitted as part of my due process rights provided by 38 CFR and requested that I be allowed a local hearing with a DRO in Montgomery Alabama. This hearing request is in support of my NOD filed in Aug 2005 and ultimately my perfected appeal resulting from VA's SOC issued on 25 January 2006. As I have have been informed of the date of my requested hearing please provide me with such date so I will be allowed the time to prepare for the hearing." Their replies included - we are scheduling you for the requested travel board hearing to your appeal is being processed. Not one letter in the reply concerning the original question. How can they be so stupid? They are really trying me on this one. Although I do not suffer from PTSD, I do have severe depression and emotional problems due to the dejerine roussy syndrome. If I ever lose it and focus only half of the anger that my poor family puts up with on the idiots they better look out cause there is no telling what will happen. Thanks for letting me rant.

To prove my point about my varo - CFR 38 provides for a 100 percent evaluation for six months for a stroke. Mine happened in Jan 05. My claim was filed in Feb/Mar 05 asking for the 100 percent evaluation for six months. In the first of July 05 had C&P. In the end of July rating decision was received. claim was denied due to "no evidence of a active process or disease". There was no mention of any evidence contained in the C&P or any other evidence in support of the claim either probative, non-probative or negative to the claim. Based upon their limited basis for their decision I am not sure what they were looking for. The only thing I can think of is they are saying the stroke was to old at the time the claim was filed (3 months old) previous BVA claims denied the 100 x 6 months because the vets stroke happened 10-15 years prior to the filing of their claim. The ones that have been approved are vets who had strokes within the previous year prior to filing the claim. Below is the medical opinion my doc provided in support of my claim. I think he covered all of the bases but I am just a dumb lay person. MADISON NEUROLOGICAL LYNN B. BOYER, M.D. 8371 Hwy 72 West, Suite 206 Madison, Alabama 35758 Phone (256)837-6600 Fax (256) 837-6401 1 August 2005 RE: RICKY DOB: TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Mr. H has been a patient of mine since February 2005 at which time he was referred to this office by Dr. Michael Cooke, Fox Army Medical Center, Redstone Arsneal Alabama. His referral was based upon his 20 January 2005 symptomology of left sided numbness with weakness, slurred speech, headaches and blurred vision. As a result of his symptomology a current Cerebrovascular Accident process was suspected by emergency room personnel and on 24 January 2005 a Magnetic Resonance Imaging study was conducted. The interpretation of his Magnetic Resonance Imaging provided that he had suffered a subacute (recent) right-sided Thalamic Cerebrovascular Accident. Upon my physical examination, review of his medical history and records along with a review of his Magnetic Resonance Imaging films, my diagnosis agreed with that of the radiology report of a subacute (recent) right-sided Thalamic Cerebrovascular Accident which was productive of both his 20 January 2005 symptomology and residual symptomology present during physical examination. The review of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging films was negative for any chronic (older) lesions. RE: RICKY Page 2 In my medical opinion Mr. Hs’ Cerebrovascular Accident occurred on 20 January 2005. His symptomology presented in the emergency room on 20 January 2005 was the result of a current, ongoing and active process of a Cerebrovascular Accident. My opinion is based upon my personal physical examination of Mr. H; his long standing medical history of Hypertension and Diabetes; my review of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging studies conducted on 24 January 2005; my extensive 32 years of experience in the field of Neurology treating patients of Cerebrovascular Accidents and the current accepted medical opinion and doctrine of the American Academy of Neurology, the National Stroke Association and various other prestigious medical organizations. These organizations state that patients presenting symptomology such as Mr. H’, especially those with a long standing medical history of Hypertension and Diabetes, are more likely than not suffering from an ongoing active Cerebrovascular Accident process which will complete within hours and rarely last longer than a few days. After completion of the active process residual neurological deficits will more than likely be present and their effects and severity will be dependant upon the location and severity of the Cerebrovascular Accident. Sincerely, LYNN B. BOYER M.D. LBB/lts

As we discussed in the other post about IMO's this is a medical summary which was provided back to my Tricare family Doc, for his use to justify the continued refferals to the neuro and upcoming hospital test and exams and possible operation. No basis for his opinion except for his objective findings. I sent it to va to support my claim but they did not use it based upon the incredible rating they gave me. The Dejerine Roussy is already service connected however, they failed to rate it for the seperate body areas and simply gave me an overall 10 percent rating. Hope I can upload this. Let me know what you guys think. hmmm can not get any of my special functions to work so I will have my daughter type it in cause it would take me all night: MADISON NEUROLOGICAL LYNN B. BOYER M.D. ALABAMA USA RE: Me SSAN DOB: Long Ago TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I am a licensed, board certified neurologist and have been practicing neurology in the state of Alabama for 32 years. Mr. H has been a patient of mine since February 2005 at which time he was diagnosed with a CVA (right thalamic infarct) and Dejerine Roussy Syndrome (DRS). DRS is caused by damage to the central nervous system and is not associated with normal peripheral nerve damage. It manifest itself in the form of a severe and constant deep burning, aching, cutting, tearing sensation and is mixed with sudden, excruciating shots of pain. It is also mixed with other distracting sensations like ballooning and painful numbess sensations. Objectively as a result of his CVA he suffers from DRS connoly referred to as Thalamic Syndrome. His DRS has manifested itself as a continuous severe dyesethesia and hyperpathia in the left side of his face and mouth and especially distally in the left arm, hand, leg and foot. Also present is continuous sensory ataxia. His dysesthesia is present both with (evoked ) and without stimuli. His pain is severe and constant and results in his inability to endure the touch of basic clothing, simple temperature changes, and normal speaking and eating functions. Hiw hyperpathia has resulted in complete sensory paralysis due to the sonstant guarding of the areas in an effort to lessen the effects of the pain. As a result of his sensory ataxia he has insufficient sensory feedback to walk securely or grasp and hold items with the hand. He is unable to tell precisely when his foot has reached the maximal impact of weight bearing which greatly affects his ability to perform normal walking functions. The sensory ataxia of the hand has resulted in an extreme decrease in proprioceptive and positional sense of the limb resulting in the inability to use the hand during normal activities throughout the day. As a result of his chronic pain and sensory ataxia, he has become resigned to his symptoms and suffers from moderate depression. Mr. His is currently being treated with 3200 mg neurontin per day, 1800 mg Trileptal per day and I recently added 60 mg of Cymbalta to further reduce the pain and assist with the depression. Further treatment by me will include a full work up in Birmingham to explore the possible use of (could not make it out but he wants to implant something into my brain to try and stop the pain). It is my opinion that Mr. H's CVA and resulting DRS have in effect made him severely disabled. The constant pain, which increases with stimuli, coupled with the sensory ataxia has resulted in a complete functional loss of both his left hand and foot. The effects of the DRS will continue and will more likely increase in severity with time. Now will raters view documents such as this as IMO's and blow them off as "no probative value" or will they use them as notes etc.... from a treating doc and use it to rate your claim? I can tell you that my VARO refuses to accept any medical evidence even if it is signed by GOD Almighty himself. They will not even spend the time to explain if it is probative or not they just simply provide a reason and basis of "your disability does not meet the requirements required by law". Guess they are working off some foreign law as US Code, 38 CFR nor M21 means a thing to them. It is as though they are some rouge organization marching to their own tune. Please belive me that my comments are made simply cause they denied my claim but are based upon my reading of 100's upon 100's of rating decisions and SOC's issued in this state.

Hey Ralph, do you have or can you direct me to any such writs. Most of the CVA stuff that I have read is either a simple remand with a joint motion for the remand or if they really have to decide something, as I recall, the ruling normally states that it is not binding (or words to that effect). Maybe it is because most of my research is done late at night or early in the morning, depending on how you look at it but I gotta do something during the night while I wait on day light so I can go to work. Anyway, I have read articles on interview with retired judges from the court, if you really call it a court, who provided that neither the BVA or the RO's pay any attention to the court unless they want to. I sure would like to read some of them there grits, I mean writs. Especially if there is any follow-on documentation on how the BVA or RO responded to it. Since it is a court without any power they can write all of the writs they want and word spank both the BVA and RO's but I betcha that when the VA gets such a document they simply say "sure, uh huh" and then continue on with their mission of pissing on another 4-5 thousand vets who have claims pending at the RO. jmho Ricky

I read the GAO report. You know, what in the world is going on. There have been hundreds if not thousands of problems with the VA that have been identified by the GAO over the years. Once identified, the VA puts together some usless panel or committe that develops a very costly fix to the problem and then reports back to the GAO that all is fine. Seems as though billons of dollars have been wasted by this process and no one cares. The GAO just moves on to identify the next problem in order to justify their existence, VA management hires their family members and friends as contractors to study the problem and recommend fixes, the hired hands develop an unheard of costly fix and gives it to the VA, VA management then tells congress that they are going to have to scoop funds off the top of the budget to pay for the GAO study, the cost of the contractors hired to study and develop a fix to the problem plus millions if not billions of dollars to implement the fix. Congress then hails VA management for their proactive efforts in supporting the poor veterans, gives themselves a raise for appointing such a go getting group of guys and gals to run the VA along with lush incentive bonuses for VA management. All the while billions of dollars just went down the tube and no change happens, not a penny is spent on veterans and veterans programs are cut and the billions of dollars wasted by congress and the VA is blamed on the veteran community. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm. The only shred of hope is the VAOIG investigators. But when you contact them their reply is "sorry sir but due to the non-adversial system we do not investigate this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this etc.......... What the hell do they investigate? Oh well, who am I to question the system. I am just a dumb, broken redneck veteran who wants a hand out. Wow what a rant I guess I need to go to bed hahahahahaha.

Berta - thanks for the post as I have done many searches on CVA and never found one that is close to mine like this one is. All that I have seen is where the vet had a stroke several years ago and is now claiming disabilities due to the residuals of the stroke. To answer your questions - no the IMO's did not state that I was totally disabled. As CFR 38 reads there is no need for such a statement. The disability codes that cover CVA's simply states "rate at 100 percent for six months, then rate residuals." There is no requirement for any other ancillary disabilities during that six months and no requirement for this "active process" that VA sited in the rating and SOC. My claim that was submitted asked for SC for the stroke secondary to DMII and Hypertension, with an initial rating for 100 percent for six months - and since the residuals of the centeral nerve damage had occured and was present {Dejerine-Roussy Syndorme-thalamic pain syndrome, central pain syndrome} it asked for SC for it secondary to the stroke. Their rating provided only approval for "residuals of stroke-Dejerine-Roussy Syndrome". It totally ingored my claim for the initial rating of 100 percent. Since the assumption of me and the doctors was that they were referring to the time line of the stroke and expected to see some type of "cva process" during the C&P process and wanted the C&P doctor to state "yep he is having a stroke now" the IMO's especially the one from the hospital radiologist, who is a 24 year board certified guy" centered in on the process of stroke and his MRI report. When I first had the stroke I had several CT scans, which were negative, and many other tests. The MRI was conducted 3 days after my symptoms began. In his MRI report he diagnosed "a sub-acute right-sided thalamic infarct. He provided an excellent discussion- He started out with "in order to understand and use information provided by a medical doctor, one must be familiar with medical terminology and its use. The term sub-acute in the MRI report for a CVA refers to a CVA accident that occured with days to several weeks within the actual CVA. Mr. H's symptoms first occured on 21 Jan 05 and the MRI was conducted on 23 Jan 05. At the time of the MRI his infarct had completed and was well within the time period of his symptoms. There was no evidence of medical record that indicated that his CVA was chronic (more than six months old). He then provided a very good explaination of the process of a stroke due to a thrombosis. The Neuro statement provided that "after a personal review of Mr. H's MRI films and a medical examination blah blah blah (neuro guys get long winded) it is my opinion and diagnosis that he suffered a right thalamic infarct (CVA) in Jan 05. As a result of the location of the infarct (the thalamus) he now suffers from severe center nerve damage which has resulted in Dejerine-Roussy syndrome". He went on to fully describe Dejerine-Roussy Syndrome and how it affected my face, hand and foot. He provided that it could resolve within six months or it could get worse and affect other parts of my body. When I filed my NOD in Aug 05 he provided another opinion along with his diagonsis which stated that the Dejerine-Roussy had gotten worse and resulted in the loss of functional use of the left leg and foot and arm and hand. He further stated that based upon current medical blah, blah, blah -and that it was his opinion since it had spread vs resolving during the past six months it was permenate and would not resolve. All of this has been at the RO since Jan 05 via formal appeal (VA 9). I am going it alone cause of the SO's in this area are not to swift. I am getting ready for my BVA hearing and plan to attack the way the rating and SOC was written (no discussion of evidence) then flow into the violation/application of the regulations used by the RO. Hopefully I will win. I think it is clear cut but I guess that is because it is my claim. However, when the law and regulations says WHEN X HAPPENS, THEN RATE AT X AMOUNT FOR X AMOUNT OF TIME, THEN RATE RESIDUALS. other areas of the regulation provided that when rating a disability such as CVA etc.... then make sure that all body systems affected are rated seperately. Hell that is pretty clear to this old Alabama redneck guy!!!!!!! THANKS GUYS