Objee

Bill, I just searched for the design drawings for the 125 footer ACTIVE class cutters with no joy. Try Fred's Place to see if you recognize any ALERT crew from the time you were aboard. If so, query them to see if that's where you berthed. I was XO on the EWING and have no memeory either (damn Prozac!) so we're screwed unless we can find some mentally competent ex-crew! Couldn't find designated berthing areas. But, WTH, we're Coasties and we don't give up until it's done! "You have to go out, etc. . . . " Coordinate with me and we'll eventually get the answers needed! Ralph

Hopefully (just hopefully) these accomplished panderers think the lazy days may be coming to an end and that they'd better ramp up their performance. So, call me naive. Hope springs eternal!! Ralph

Sure, contact me at zedaassn@sbcglobal.net. Yeah, the ex-ALERT still had the pipe wrap and bulkhead insulation intact when I was on her. IF you were in any of the engineering rates I think the noise is a better bet than asbestos for HBP. The VA couldn't figure out what paratus means, but they sure understand semper! Ralph

Cavman, Go back and read the narrative(s) in your Decision Letter(s). If they cover most of the stuff that plagues you, AND you're still within the 2 year period of eligibility, go ahead and apply!!! Worst that can happen is that you get no insurance. ' Course, that's where you (and I) are now. Ralph

Bill, The only HBP I could find related to asbestos is pulmonary (highblood pressure within the heart itself). Here's the list of asbestos-related disease a leading asbestos specializing law firm offers: "The diseases for which asbestos exposure is a generally accepted cause are mesothelioma, asbestosis, small airway fibrosis, scarring, pleural plaques, pleural fibrosis, pleural effusion, and many lung cancers. Diseases for which asbestos exposure is not at this time generally accepted as the cause, include cancers of the kidney, GI tract and ovary. Each of these asbestos-related diseases can only be diagnosed through medical examinations and tests." However, excessive noise can cause HBP. If you were a snipe doing the tappet dance for hours on end on ALERT and others, this could create an SC cause for you. I was on EWING and all the buck and a quarters were fairly noisy. I also drove ALERT from SF to Petaluma (after she and I were both decomissioned) and if I recall correctly, she was not very quiet. Ralph

Dataman, When I lost my supply of wild Pacific salmon, I went to fish oil. First week was OK, then joints began to hurt. Lasted about 5 weeks, then no more pain. Dunno why we have to go through increased discomfort before peace and quiet descends, but seems that's part of the whole process. Omega 3s are good for the heart, too! Ralph

Cavman, The disabled vet life insurace must be applied for and either paid for or (if you're 100% SC & under age 65) the premiums waived. You have 2 years from the date of the decision letter to apply. It's not "guaranteed issue" - you need to be in reasonably good health on an NSC basis but the SC problems are waived in underwriting the policy. If you get the $10K with premiums waived, you're entitled to buy another $20K BUT the deadline for applying for the extra insurance is 1 year from the decision letter date. Go figure! (As I understand it!! And, I could be just a bit wrong.) Ralph

From the American Heart Ass'n (2005): "There is enough evidence that overt hypothyroidism is associated with several traditional and newer atherosclerotic risk factors, especially hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperhomocysteinemia. For subclinical hypothyroidism, these associations are less certain. Hypothyroidism has been associated with signs of aortic or coronary atherosclerosis, but no case-control or cohort studies have ever investigated hypothyroidism as a possible risk factor for atherothrombotic stroke." Ralph

You're right about the extra signature on retro over $25k. From M21-1, Part V, Chg. 32 of 6 OCT 2004: Signature #1 - Rating VSR Signature #2 - "Coach" level VSR (GS 11/12) Signature #3 - Center Manager's designee with CATH entry authority (Screen 501) Once that's done, the file data goes to Finance Operations for their approval. I'm in the middle of the same situation. Decision given on 25 JAN 2007 and nothing since then. Sheesh! Ralph

Hi Boats and welcome to Hadit! First question - do you have a positive diagnosis of DMII in your VA medical records? Second, you've got sugar spikes which aren't good. Have you had an A1c (sugar-bound hemoglobin) test? (It's a test that gauges how much of your red blood has biosugar attached and helps rate how effective your diabetic control is.) IF you have a positive diagnosis, you'll then have to identify an event while on active duty (or within a year after)that shows at least a pre-diabetic condition. The connection between the two has to be made by a medical doctor in what's known as an opinion letter. Once that's done,, the neuropathy can be connected to the DMII, again done by a medical doctor's opinion. Hope this helps you get started! Ralph

Mary, As other responders have said, no nexus - no SC. Have you discussed the situation with hubby's primary doc? If you have your claim ducks all in a row, you can make a good case for getting help from the treating physicians. If they just won't help then you'll need a medical opinion from outside the VA system - an IMO that follows the VA guide for C&P exams for Jim's condition. Don't just run out and throw a batch of paper at an MD for an opinion. Organize, tab out and write your analysis for your primary to read. Put medical record copies relevant to the claim with your analysis. Remember that any medical opinion has to be based on all medical records - in-service (SMRs) and post-service (VA and private). The doc writing the opinion has to say s/he had read all medical records and bases the opinion on those, the examination, etc., etc. After all, if the doc hasn't read the SMRs, how can s/he justify today's symptoms as being related to an active duty event? Ralph

Ronn, If your radiation treatments are related to an SC throat cancer, either a radiologist or an endocrinologist should be able to relate the hypothyroidism to the radiation. If you're on Synthroid that's worth 10%. If you can add constipation and "cognitive difficulty/memory loss or depression to the Synthroid, it's 30%. What are your T-4, T-3/T-4 and TSH readings? Until you get the T-4 dosage stabilized, you will feel a lot of hypothyroid symptoms. Dosage adjustments are made slowly as it takes time for the body to react to changes in the thyroid meds. I had thyroid cancer, so I have no thyroid gland. If you want to chat about it, let me know. Ralph

Jangrin, I got lucky with my primary doc. I obtained copies of my medical records covering 2 years after claim submission. Told him what I'd done and he asked me to leave them with him for a week. He wrote up a true "progress report" for my clinic visit that summarized the changes in the last 2 years and a prognosis. Told me what he'd done and said to get a copy and send it in with the records. Said things like "This needs to be considered for an increase in disability level." and "This needs to be considered for service connection as it's most likely caused by ...." My VSO told me this has an even more powerful effect on my claim adjudication than a straight opinion letter. Don't know why that would be true, but I seem to be about to be awarded more than I asked for. Just a thought if you have a good relationship with your attending physicians. Ralph

Sheesh, it's been there 2 years and that's all you get for a response? Looks like useless information to me except for proof they got the NOD. Do you have a VSO or POA you're supposedly working with? Ralph

No ignorance in that! Simply that the question of whether obesity causes depression or vice versa is not really settled. A lot of the conventional medical knowledge says that it's the obesity that causs the depression. The whole affair will resolve around how well the Endocrinologist/other specialist writes an opinion letter and how well s/he justifies the opinion with accepted medical or personal practice evidence. Some of the other postings have raised other relevant causes and relationships. If you don't create a clear cause - effect chain in your claim, it will be easy for VA to shoot you down if they're so inclined, based on a confused "what caused what". This sounds like you'd have "equipoise", but that's not necessarily true. Ralph

Bravo Zulu, Admiral!! Do a little Bravo Xraying and come on back when you're shored up. Ralph

Cherie, The link between depression and obesity is a "chicken and egg" problem. A recent medical study said "Weight gain and obesity can be an important adverse reaction to psychotropic drugs, including antidepressants and antipsychotics, both of which are used in the treatment of affective disorders." More common is a research finding that obesity causes depression. The relevant studies are called Longitudinal Studies. You can probably create a well grounded claim, but the grounding will be weak. Ralph

There is a lot more known now about Parkinson's than just a few years ago. Young-Onset (YOPD) vs. Older-onset (OOPD); is it Parkinson's or Parkin's disease, etc., etc. A quick research look gave this comment about onset time for Parkinson's: "The median time it took to develop dyskinesias and fluctuations in YOPD patients was 3 years (for both), while in the older-onset patients it was 6 and 4 years respectively." This could place your Parkinson's within your active duty time. Research, research, research - then it's to find the right doctor to agree with the research and write it into his/her medical opinion that yours started on active duty. Family history is important with Parkinson's. So is exposure to environmental toxins. The whole point is- Do your homework and you may be able to ultimately prevail! Ralph

ABV, There are two situations when you can't work: 1. You've been awarded 100% TDIU. Even then you (theoretically) could earn below the poverty level without jeopardy. 2. You've been awarded 100% direct SC, but mental problems are involved (PTSD as an example). Clearly if you can work AT ALL, you aren't 100% disabled. If you're 30% disabled, you're 70% well! (Haven't figured the logic behind this.) SO, you can work. Ralph

KKP, Since you have all your current claims before the RO, re-file your $%^&*&(&^% IU claim NOW. I'd (if possible) take it to the RO, get it date stamped and then give a copy to my POA. USe whatever half-vast explanation you want. but get it done! JMHO, Ralph

Hello fellow Coastie! What Vike has told you is real. BUT, since the CG is a very multi-mission service, we have some unique considerations, too. F'rinstance, you flew 130s on SAR etc. missions. Were you also aircrew in an HH - "close up" SAR? My social worker says my depression might actually be minor PTSD. Close up SAR can have some very upsetting incidents. You need to review your service medical records (SMRs) for symptoms that fit in with depression. The meds should also fit. A current diagnosis of depression matched with in-service symptoms could be the basis for a medical opinion that you were mis-diagnosed with PD and were actually suffering from depression. Any "stressor" SAR incidents can be used to source your depression. Before you went to E. City & "A" school, what class of cutter were you on? Some are noisier than all hell between the mains. How did you rupture your eardrum? When was your last audiometry test? Result? Remember that you've got 3 things to establish for a successful claim: 1. Something happened to you on active duty that caused a residual problem. 2. You have symptoms of the disease or injury right now. 3. You can tie the two directly together (the nexus) #1 can be a new problem secondary to one that's already SC. The doc writing a medical opinion not only has to say that it's at least "as likely as not" that your current problem is connected to the SMR disease/injury, but he also has to provide his reasoning as to how and why it's connected. Lurk, read, post and ask. We're all here for each other! Ralph

Sigh, Cindy. "Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can, etc." Welcome to the hurry up and don't freak out in between! Ralph

Jangrin, trust this will work out the way you guys need. In any event, please tell your hubby that we're proud for his ability to cut loose with the demons that assail him. Takes a lot of guts, and he should be very proud! Congrats to him!!! Ralph

Man o' man, that question stops me cold. Sure would think that prior denials would be in your C-file (mine were) but I'm not sure. I'd either get a file review or order out a copy of my C-file to see. Are "cluster headaches" separately ratable? If so, they should not have been rated with Horner's UNLESS it would cause pyramiding. I defer to the true experts on this board. Ralph

Forever, if nobody else responds, go to www.martindale.com - it's the Martindale - Hubbell website where attorneys are rated and their resumes are listed. You want to know the experience AND RECORD of the actual attorney who would work your claim. The law firm isn't enough - you want the specific person you'd work with to be vetted. This will give you (at least) the basic information on the individual person you'd deal with. Law is like painting. You wouldn't want Joe Schwartz painting the Sistine Chapel. You want Michaelangelo! Ralph