Fred Bear

I was diagnosed with diverticulosis without diverticulitis. The rarity is that I developed a GI bleed. This has happened to me at a young age.

all of that is is very interesting and I really appreciate your response. But it still makes no sense to me. I guess if all of a sudden my bowels blew up for no apparent reason it could not have anything to do with Gulf War. But a person who has diarrhea every so often can make a claim. I know what it says. I bet I have an irritable bowel now!! The Dr has no explanation for why my bowels did what they did. Maybe my bowels were irritated here and there before this happened and I just ignored it. I dunno but it just seems to me that a worse condition should be recognized as easy as a less sever condition. Think about the logic - it something in the Gulf caused people bowel problems, then it did. Not if it gets so bad that it requires surgery it could not have possibly been caused by something else. There is a reason the VA has recognized this as "presumptive" That means that enough people have had GI problems that they think something over there more than likely caused it. It is possible that there is varying severity of the medical condition. What you are saying , and I understand why, is that if I just had some "flare up" of an irritated bowel, I would have a case. But because it "flared up" to the point of a bleed that would not stop I could not possibly have a "presumptive" condition. In other words, if the Dr could have just got me through this without surgery, it's approved. But because of the severity it required surgery including removal of the affected area, there is no way it is connected to the service in the Gulf. I fully respect your opinion and understand where you are coming from. However I am going to attempt to file a claim and we will see where it goes. There has to be a reason this happened to me. I'm an otherwise healthy young man . To think some service members have GI trouble here and there and they rate a SC but a guy who develops a bleed so severe it requires surgery and he could not be SC is absurd. again, I respect your opinion and this makes for great conversation. If something in the Gulf caused this to our service members they deserve the compensation and treatment from our VA, regardless of severity.

so....presumptive is only if I start having problems and they reoccur not if they get bad enough to warrant emergency surgery times 2??? That makes no sense, in other words, if a veteran has GI problems flare up and he gets rated, then it gets bad enough to warrant surgery and removal of an organ he is no longer affected??? I'm not following the logic. I thought presumptive ment that the problem was presumed to have occurred because of involvement in the Gulf War. I have lost an organ and gained a bag because of a condition that is "presumed" because of Gulf War involvement.

http://www.publichea...ned-illness.asp Here is a link to the article

Unknown. Like I said just came out of the blue. But if I read things right, this is a presumptive condition that is recognized by the involvement in the Gulf War Theater of operations

I just recently got out of the hospital for emergency surgery on my bowels. I had to have 15" of my colon removed because of a bleed. I ended up with a costomy bag that the Dr feels he can reverse in about 6 months. Because this came out of the blue and the Dr could not figure out what caused this I started to do a little research and quickly came across the Gulf War presumptive conditions and one of them is GI problems. On to my questions - 1. Because this is presumptive and I did serve in the Gulf War do I automaticly rate a VA dissability? 2. Should it be code 7333 and @ 100% because I do have a colostomy bag? 3. If reversed, what would my rating be at that point? any info would be appreciated. In either a positve or negative direction. I am currently rated at 40% because of a back condition and a severed thumb. another question is, my medical bills, Because this was an emergency and not VA connected I went to the civilian hospital. If rated by the VA are any of my medical bills covered?

whats an IMO? I really dont want to use a civilian DR because all of my service conected care has been with the VA. I dont want to look like I am Dr shopping. But it is extreamly difficult to get in to see the VA dr when a flare up occours.

I am currently rated for a lumbar strain and have a increase review in the works. How do I get the VA to change this to 5243 intervertebral disc syndrom? A strain it is not. I have documented MRI's showing 4 bulging discs and now I am having pain in my shin that gives me what I found as "foot drop" Also, how do I get my VA DR to give me bed rest? ususaly when I have a "flare up" I call in sick to work and call for an appointment at the VA clinic. The appointment is usually weeks past my call. So what ends up happening is I apply my own bed rest and then just tell the DR about what happened because it is well beyond my flare up. I'm sure I have incapacitating episodes of 4 - 6 weeks per year and the Dr did indicate that on my FMLA paperwork. Is that sufficient for "bed rest"?