usmc198121

That is good info to know so I dont go wasting my time on that. Thank you.

I am currently 30% awaiting an appeal. I didn't think I would be able to, but this guy was pretty sure of him self. Said that he claimed both.

I am SC for PTSD and was told that I should claim anxiety secondary to PTSD. Does anyone know if that is a true statement. I mean anxiety is a large part of PTSD so why would I be able to claim anxiety secondary to it?

Ok, thank you so very much. I will check all of that out.

What is a DBQ? I have a ton of medical evidence from my VA Primary Care Provider. I thought the VA could see all that when I claim something?

Below is what it stated: 1. Service connection for post traumatic stress disorder. Service connection for post traumatic stress disorder has been established as directly related to military service. Your lay testimony is adequate to establish occurrence of the claimed stressor for post traumatic stress disorder, which is consistent with the places, types, and circumstances of your Iraq, and Kuwait service. We have assigned a 30 percent evaluation for your posttraumatic stress disorder based on: • The examiner's assessment of your current mental functioning, which is partially reflected in your Global Assessment of Function score found below. • Difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships • Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal) • Anxiety • Chronic sleep impairment Your Global Assessment of Function (GAF) score is 54. A range of 51-60 indicates moderate symptoms; or any moderate difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning. The overall evidentiary record shows that the severity of your disability most closely approximates the criteria for a 30 percent disability evaluation. A higher evaluation of 50 percent is not warranted unless there is occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: • Flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; • Panic attacks more than once a week; • Difficulty in understanding complex commands; • Impairment of short- and long-tem1 memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); • Impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; • Disturbances of motivation and mood; • Difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.

I am an OIF veteran that served from 2001-2005. I was recently diagnosed with PTSD and was awarded a rating through the VA. My first claim I did not claim many things because I was not very aware of the process or what was considered a "claimable issue". Over the years I have been getting migraines that get progressively worse and the doc that I see says that they believe it is directly related to the anxiety from my PTSD. I have been put on several medication and currently was provided blood pressure medication to ease my high heart rate and anxiety. The big question is how to I claim the migraines? Do I claim them "in connection with PTSD" or do I just claim it separate. I am just afraid I will get denied for them if I do not put in connection with PTSD because the migraines started after my second tour in Iraq and I got out about a month after that deployment. That being said there is no service records of my migraines. I appreciate any discussion this might generate. Semper Fi