TiredCoastie

That's a good question. You have a couple of options in my book and others may have more advice. 1. File a NOD after you receive your decision if you are not rated for this condition. Your C&P exam results discussed your MRI findings. Therefore, the RO has evidence from its own investigation that you have the condition. If they don't rate you for this, which they found in trying to investigate your migraines, you could file a NOD and point out that they should have rated you for this. In fact, that's one of the things I've appealed for in relation to my TIAs. In the midst of the

Yeah, I did a 2-week holter looking for dangerous arrythmias to ensure I wasn't throwing clots causing which were causing my TIAs. But that's a different problem from migraine. The problem is that migraine is pretty challenging to unravel, and while research has uncovered some, there seems to be a lot they don't know about it. Maybe someday they'll be able to hook us up to a box and figure out the whys and best approaches. We had a neurologist tell my wife and me once that there are three areas in which even leading experts know suprisingly little: deep space, the deep sea, and the hum

JMO, but in your case, they should have also rated you with "8009 Brain, vessels, hemorrhage" with 100% for 6 months then a rating decision based on C&P results...beside the 50% for prostrating and economically impacting migraines. Check out 38 CFR 4.124(a).

In my case, my SMRs helped because I was hospitalized with a neuroligical event that was eventually determined to be a migraine back while I was on active duty. They progressed pretty rapidly after the stress of service came off after I discharged, and got very strange and very much worse as the months rolled on. Sounds like you had one of those prostrating migraines yourself as a kid. Glad you haven't suffered one since. Even when I'm not knocked flat, they keep me from thinking clearly. There are scans, apparently, that can be done that show some sort of migraine activity but having

Your claim status can bounce back and forth before it finalizes, so there is certainly "going back" at this point. The rater may have decided that he/she has enough at this point to make a good decision and forwarded one up the chain. Maybe they are planning to grant you a decision on what they can decide now and get you a decision about your other contentions later? I've never seen any change in the benefits verification letter, etc, this early. Once the claim closes, then those update at least in my experience. However, like Gastone always says, put a watch on your bank account fo

I keep a headache log like K9MAL and tally up the prostrating attacks monthly. My nuerologist also verified that they were prostrating based on what I reported to her. Man, I wish there was something like a holter monitor for neurologic events! I'd need one all the time!

Looking at your C&P, you actually look like you have a good shot at success if the rater takes the time to read through the notes the C&P doc wrote and looks at the whole document. One section of your DBQ caught my eye: b. Does the Veteran have very prostrating and prolonged attacks of migraines/non-migraine pain productive of severe economic inadaptability? [X] Yes [ ] No That's the key question per 38 CFR 4.124(a) for the 50% rating and what I had to prove to meet the 50% level. You ought to win this one during the reveiw of your C-file and claims before generating a dec

And for you, too.

Congratulations! I was also recently increased to 50% for migraines, so let me echo that it is possible!

With the VA, timelines are very hard to guess. Your NSO probably has better visibility on where the decision rests, but she can only really make an educated guess about when things move through your RO.

Amen!

I ran your numbers through the Hadit calculator and got 75.7 as well. That should round up to 80%. As soon as your claim closes in eBenefits, you should be able to see your new combined rating under "documents" through the disability verification letter or old AB8. You may have gotten an off-the-cuff rough guestimate from your VSO. While it's too early to really know for sure, if 70% fits your PTSD, then you can probably declare victory. However, take a good look at 38 CFR part 4 and make sure that you were rated appropriately. If not, be prepared to drop another NOD. I still don't li

That's not the best kind of response from your NSO, Jeff. You should do what makes the answer right, not expedient to the VSO, RO, etc. So from my perspective, it depends on what they're offering. If it's the right answer based on 38 CFR part 4, then OK. If they're lowballing you or SC'ing only some of what you've submitted and trying to get you to walk away happy, then that's a problem and another NOD. It sounds like you have a pretty good list of conditions, and you need to get those on a claim form and in with your medical evidence, nexuses, DBQs, etc, ASAP no matter how this appeal tu

That's pretty frustrating. Do you have a way to email her? Hang in there.

So what if they don't certify the appeal, Chris? That's what happened to this vet, Jeff...and he sat for five years waiting...and has more recently happened with several of us who have had our appeals pulled back from going to Washington DC with a supposed BVA decision. Now in my case, I did submit a second NOD but on a different claim decision which echoed the claim decision I'd already appealed...long, complicated story as to why. The second NOD disappeared. I was told by phone from a rep from the RO that they were effectively ignoring the second NOD because I cannot appeal the same c