ArNG11

I have to say though. Both my C&P were not thorough. No physical touch, no goigameter. Not even the tunning fork or prickly gauge. There is supposed to be a bilateral factor if you are having issues with radiculopathy in both legs. I got a 10% on my left nerve and a 10% on my right. The left is worse than the right. Im in the process of fighting that.

Don't know what happened with the server when I was trying to quote. Weird.

I've done chiropractic care, physical therapy, epidural steroid shots, facet block injections, bilateral medial branch blocks and a rhizotomy. This is all on my private medical insurance. I have tried getting fee based care from the VA and that was a no go. I managed to get the VA to do PT and Accupuncture. Now they will do trigger point injections. I haven't tried those but I'm willing to if it can give me some relief. I've considered surgery several times but I am leery of letting the VA do that. Even on the private side I have reservations about spine surgery. It's a gampble and risky even with the newer medical advancements and treatment options.

Yes and no. I indicated on my first NOD that I would like to receive a call if there were questions regarding my appeal, however some of the questions she had asked were clearly matters that my attorney's NOD covered, that is why I am suspicious of the call. With that said though I did indicated on one of my NOD's that I wanted a call back, this just happened to be involving one of my other appeals. The kicker is I also requested a call back from the Ebenefits platform.

I have tried VA s ,,Healing Touch and Accupunture. I have been trying to get them to do trigger point injections which they are going to do and I have been trying to get them to fee base chiropractic care that they are fighting me on.

That kind of depends on different variables. Both my ratings for radiculopathy where approved with out an EMG, although my mRi's and EMG indicated moderate on my left and mild on my right extremities. I an fighting those on appeal as we speak. So far the bi lateral factor hasn't been applied and there are ?'s as to the rating difference between mild and moderate and which nerve root it affects. The information above are the correct references for this type of injury.

If you go into the claim information itself on ebennies you will see a button that asks if you would like a call back that's what I clicked on. On both my NOD's the forms had my and my attorneys contact information. It was great to actually speak to someone who has a decision making authority with my claims.

So tempting. Good for you guys and gals. I actually might have a DRO meeting as soon as Feb 9th. The VA seems to want to move on my claims. My first estimate from everything Ebennies, attorney, and correspondence from the VA was sometime in 2016 as far as my first appeal. I didn't expect a DRO hearing this quick. Hopefully things keep moving for everyone. Good fortune and a good fight to everyone.

No victory with out risk. You are a brave soul. I'm rooting for you. Good Luck keep us posted.

Congrats coastie. Good times. It is always grand to read about wins. Take care.

I gotta tell you guys something and I gotta lay it down fast. I'm not sure on specifics with why this happened but it just happened to me. I had submitted a call back for information on my claim on the ebennies platform last night. Well low and behold the DRO deciding my case just called me 15 minutes ago. Be careful what you ask for. Now I'm a bit paranoid and I don't trust the VA especially with what I've experienced so far. First she mixed information on claims and we discussed which claims were being heard and decided on. Also she informed me when my DRO hearing will be. March 19th. Pretty fast huh. I filed an NOD the last week of May 2014. Now I was careful, and I informed her that I was represented by counsel, she verified that as well. Odd thing, is that all it takes is a ebennies request or is this from my initial NOD where I checked I wanted a call back. The regional office has my updated NOD with my attorney's contact information. I found it odd. Maybe it's just a coincidence and maybe I'm just paranoid and reading to much into this, however, my paranoia has kept me outta trouble more often than not.

Im sure you probably did this, but make sure you send a copy to the VA revoking their Power of Attorney.

Hang in there bud. It can't rain all the time. I understand the looney part. Cuckoo Cuckoo Cuckoo. The wait times drive me up the wall also.

Sorry to hear. I asked for acupuncture and trigger point injections. Those are the next step according to the VA. I'm taking what I can get for the moment. I have had radio frequency done before so I am not expecting any grand results. Id be happy with some relief. I am reconsidering having the discogram done. At this point it's just a matter of whether my private insurance will do it. I figure it be years if I tried to get that done through the VA. Rpowell your problems are at the L5-S1 right? I have been reading about fmri. Basically functional MRi. It may shed to light. I kind of agree that and EMG needs to be done in different positions besides the prone. The nerves may be getting more pressure on them when your spine is compressing at various angles and pressures. There was another procedure similar to X-rays with dye. Not sure if any this will help. But good luck.

I couldn't get the web app to give me the form. At least we know the answer now thanks.

Gentlemen this is wasted energy. In the whole if going the way of emailing top VA officials is the way to get progress then so be it. This is really trivial and we can't let our differences get in the way of our true mission here. We are here to help everyone on their road of the maze that is the VA. While we can stay on the same path or choose another that makes no difference the goal gentlemen is the key. Just compensation for just service that is all. If people don't like people's opinion then so be it, you don't have to follow it, but don't discredit your knowledge and experiences by getting into a pissing contest. My apologies if I offend anyone but that is JMHO. We are in this together to help each other.

It seems that many of the links on the remodeled VA website are not completely functional. E-benefits is in the same boat. Heh I have to hand it to them the videos on how to use the website are pretty catchy. I'm won't bash it completely, if every link works the way it is supposed to, I think most will find it a little easier to find information. What I am really interested in is the chat feature to talk to someone about your claim, even if the talking is through chat. Of course that options is only available during normal business hours but heh, it might be a step in the right direction. I emphasize , m a y b e.

Ask the VA to make a decision on your claim as you have no more evidence to submit? Is that all it takes now. Hmmm. Look at your dependency claims? oOOh chat with a real life VA claims representative. Say it ain't so. Pinch me am I dreaming. The application is sketchy at best. Most functions time out or give you an error message but I have to hand it to the designers it is a pretty shade of blue. Now the test, is it going to be more useful and reliable as in the past. Hmm. Sorry folks. I woke up in a weird mood this morning. Didn't sleep well.

Whoa doggie. Keep your seats in the upright position and sinch that seatbelt tight. Looks like they gave Ebennies a facelift. I have been playing with it accessing different information and from what I have noticed the new platform has a lot of cosmetic changes. One thing I do not like is that the evidence list is no longer there. It only shows what evidence you submitted in your claim after January 25, 2015. Why am I not surprised. I guess I will give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe the information will be listed elsewhere but so far I have not found it. Convenient I think. I have a feeling this is just going to make things more complicated. Although I have to say it looks like you can make an IRIS request from the website itself. I'll have to play with it some more. If any folks are in ebennies junkies like me, aesthetically, it's pretty. Now to find out if it's useful remains to be seen.

I don't see why not, but I'm not sure it would help your case any. The big disclaimer, these are estimates and your case may not follow these exact timeframes. I really hate it but I can't help looking at it, however, it is the sum of all parts, mail, phone calls, inquiries, letters, ebennies, even the automated letters ones that tell you what is going on. Ooh I almost forgot the most important part. THE BBE! aka THE BIG BROWN ENVELOPE! (or white depending on region)

Asking for an increase or NOD the decision possibly might. If the decision is final then an IME/IMO would be necessary. Continuity of treatment and showing progression of your illnesses and conditions would help as well.