ArNG11

Yup John. Right on the $[quote name="jbasser" post="357625" timestamp="1419016747 Bottom line. If you get rated, You will be rated on Range of motion. IVDS will be rated on incapacitating episodes (Bed Rest) Nerves will be rated separate. The Reg does not mention muscle or soft tissue. J

No bubbles burst. Not in a competition for whose jacked up more. I know there are people out there that are worse than I am. I just share what I go through for two reasons. One to get advice from veterans going through or have gone through the same thing and two to offer advice from my experiences in the hopes that it helps another veteran out.

Congrats Aggie. Take it easy and enjoy it, really enjoy it. Unwind and relax for a long while. I wish you and your family the best. Don't worry things will work out. You made it through the mess that is the VA system. Take care.

I would agree. But I can care less whether they admit it. I want treatment for the conditions. Last time I had an auto immune problem it almost did me in and I honestly dont want to hear that noise again. It's like with anything, in the past, they will only admit a connection when it can't be debated anymore and the numbers are so high that they have to admit there is a serious problem. Transparency is extremely neccessary at this point. But we all have experience with that scenario. There isn't any. Just have to do the best that you can with the knowledge and experience you gain.

It seems that after talking with my attorney,the local regional office is not going to follow the regs on nerve damage caused by my sc back injury or even acknowledge all the evidence. It seems I may be off to the BVA.

Almost forgot to give you an example I filed a FDC claim with the necessary evidence and my claim is not set to be decided on till Dec of 2016. I filed back this August. It is very difficult to give a general ball park as each Regional Office has a different snail's pace to complete claims.

Ah Ebennies strikes again. I have been guilty of this myself. I think Ebennies is quite a tease and if you fall prey as many of us have you will drive yourself crazy. I would suggest working on counter measures for the denial or lowball rating. I don't want to sound pessimistic but sadly that is a truth for majority of us here. If you did not submitt a FDC it will take longer, also it depends on the Regional office that you are dealing with. All have some theory of how long the claim will take to process. I would gather your rebuttal and evidence together. If you haven't already done so get your a copy of your CFile and Service Medical Records along with any private medical records to confirm the continuity of your treatments. This will be good ammo for your defense. I wish you well. JMHO

I guess I'll chime in here as well and give my two cents. NOD and CUES. Both have their time and place. Although with an NOD might...will prolong your claim progress there is a strategic advantage here., the benefit of doubt. However on a CUE there has to be a legal error and it must have profoundly changed the outcome of your case and be of detriment to your claim. Not to mention the fact that you are now on an unequal battlefield with an agency that has an armament of "making their mark" attorneys just ready to pounce on any flaw in your claim since you no longer have the benefit of doubt. Not saying that you shouldn't pursue it, just stating that your 'i' and 't' better be dotted and crossed because it's going to get down and dirty real fast. JMHO.

You are your own best advocate. No one will care about your claim more than you do. If you can handle the claim on your own then do so. Make sure you revoke your POA. With the help of this site and others like it you stand a better chance winning than with agencies that may not be looking out for your best interests. Not knocking any VSO's or anything but sometimes they can be as hurtful as the enemy out on the field.

Congrats on the ratings, especially right out the gate. Don't ever let zero ratings slide. You are right about the presumptives and I can almost guarantee you were underrated on some of your conditions but thats ok, if you feel you were underrated, if your evidence and regs qualify for higher then NOD the decision, you have a year to file the NOD. Its imperative that you meet the deadline to disagree with the decision otherwise you loose retro. For now enjoy the victory and be thankful for qualifying that high right out the gate. A good victory. With the mental conditions, yeah, unfortunately you will have to deal with some of the pitfalls of the VA medical system, however, the important thing is treatment and concentrating on your health. Be mindful of the VA's shenanigans but utilize them how you need to in order to take care of your health problems. Good luck and congrats again.

Congrats. Always a pick me up to read of a win. Take care and utilize all that is available for you and your family.

Heh just out of curiosity anyone using a CPAP, have you tried using the washable intake filters? I ve been curious on trying them. I have a ResMed Swift XS and those standard filters go by fast.?

I have to agree with this. You need to show a timeline of when symptoms started showing up with Inservice documentation of the illness. Even with the buddy statement you are going to need a medical nexus to relate it to service along with contemporary records that attribute it to service. I've had a daisy of a time trying to get mine connected and I have plenty of private medical records that prove when I started showing signs and that I require a cpap. The VA still denied. An IME/IMO will help you immensely to get it connected, but it is a hard fight even with that. Also keep in mind that the VA will try to avoid giving a link or nexus to sleep apnea being related to your SW Asia tour. According to the regs even with showing signs of sleep apnea as an undiagnosed illness before 2016, they still deny. It's a difficult fight. I assure you. I'm still in my fight and have been unsuccessful. JMO

I agree with the above, however, self improvement, as in honing skills to compensate for the disabilities you do have, being able to protect yourself accommodating your disabilities is not a bad idea. Not being paranoid, I grew up in Brooklyn, NY, I was always watchful, but now with what's gone on in my life because of my health issues, life experience disabilities, I am even more watchful, you have to utilize your strengths more effectively so no one else can exploit your disabilities. Not advocating violence or anything but I feel better with armament that I know how to use. John is right though, situational awareness is an important tool.

I have looked up some of the batch numbers and many were expired and put back in the system and reused. Odd thing I noticed while working in a medical company, you are required to put manufacture date, exp date, lot number, and serial number whenever these shots are given. In my case and many of my deployment friends, that information is omitted or partially filled. FAV 110 and FAV178 were expired batches put back in service and reused after receiving warnings that those lot numbers were bad. Worrisome to say the least. Look it up on the web and read for yourself. I think some of the info I found was from the CDC and manufacture websites of the vaccines themselves. Some data suggests that it can cause autoimmune responses in some patients.

I got extremely lucky with a FOIA request. It took 7 days from the day I submitted it to the day I found a large parcel with all my records. I was informed that this was crazy fast for a C-file request. Not surprisingly my attorney submitted a request for my records back in August and still has not received anything. Of course they did give him access to VBMS, but they were slow in giving him the passwords to access them. Under full disclosure laws and regulations I can't understand why they are not severely penalized for this. This very action is detrimental to a claimants case if the claimant does not have access to all the records the VA is supposed to be looking at to process their claim. So does anyone want to snipe that hamster yet?

Thanks. I wish the same for every one else here. Thats the power of sharing our experiences and knowledge. Don't mean to sound like a support group but it is the truth.

Congrats.

I did take a long hard look. I don't want to file claims that I can't prove or in this game get the benefit of doubt. It all boils down to what I can prove and when symptoms started. I happen to be a KC135 mechanic, a fuels mechanic, I can't tell you how many times I was drenched with JP8 and JP4 it was more than I care to admit. So I have had more than one exposure route. The burn pits and the desert I am sure has taken it's toll. Botched immunizations is another. In any case with the ITP my likely exposure route would be my fuel exposures as I have researched many CAVC cases and Federal Cases where this has been deemed and connected to service. It's all on what I can prove. What were the exposure routes and what would most likely be the contributing cause, and when I started showing symptoms. Although I personally feel that SW Asia has its part, I don't feel it is the direct cause of my ITP which even if I did most people would think me the loon and either way I can't prove it conclusively. If DOL would state that my military service attributed to me getting ITP, I think they would be shooting themselves in the foot, since DOL, VA, Military are in the same pot. The kicker is this, the 240 plus aircraft that have come through the base that I worked on, many have been through service in the Gulf and all have had jet fuel in them when I worked them. There is just no way of knowing. I don't know what I can prove or disprove. All I can state for a fact is the I am sick an injured now and wasn't before, after by works as a federal employee and as a service member in this country's military Oh the mirror test, I did that when I was in the hospital with ITP for eight days wondering if I was going to make it or not. Things were really put in perspective for me at that point. Then quantified when I realized I have had six surgeries on my hands and I am still in need of three more. I'll state that I believe my problems with my hands and ITP are a result of my service as an aircraft fuels mechanic. The other problems with my back and such were in the line of duty as a soldier and airman. No offense taken by the way. I just want to make sure I keep my claims with the right agencies that are responsible.

Vync I did the same when I was on this medication. They gave me Psyllium Fiber. Tastes not so good. I add a little bit of honey or raw sugar even though it has dextrose as a sweetener in it. It helps.

This is one topic that I have a hard time understanding. I realize what the VA and For Hire docs try to do. You must have had something in your childhood that predispositioned you to come down with what you have now. Never mind if you served in combat, or were subject to physical or sexual abuse while in service, or just didn't take well to being shot at,or rocketed or what not, or that your service connected issues just have you so depressed and angry or anxious or all the above, NOT RELATED TO SERVICE. RRRRRR This is utterly and completely preposterous. Anal retantive turds they can be. ARRRRR IF it was not annotated in your entrance exam when you enlisted then it is arguable that you were of sound mind & body. No defects, not mental problems, you were fit as a fiddle. If you sustained injuries from service to this GREAT country of OURS in the line of DUTY then DAMN IT , it can reasonably be concluded that it is AT LEAST AS LIKELY that it RELATED TO SERVICE. Okay enhancing my calm. If you suffered some type of stressor, something that traumatized you, via PTSD, MST, anxiety, depression or something with a diagnosis, because of service it will obviously change you, change your personality because you will never be the same. I DESPISE this label the examiners try to put on veterans. Of course your personality will change, its part of the coping mechanisms that we as humans have in order to put traumatic events behind us and try to protect our damaged mental state. Sometimes, most times, you can never fix it once its broken, but you can try to mend it, live with it and try to be as close the person that you once were. Sometimes, most times you can be successful, but UNTIL then you are suffering from something that would not have been there had you not served. My sincere apologies, I think I need a breather. I really wish I could fly my quad. : ( Two more weeks and I can fly again.

I appreciate the positive vibes. A 70 & 40 would only equal out to a 80% rating using VA math, but that's irrelevant at this point. I think the biggest advice I can give to anyone here whether a new claimant or a repeat claimant is don't listen to the letter where they said that they (VA) has all the relevant evidence in your claim. Out of the 6 C&P examinations that I have had, none had the medical documentation I submitted. I know this for a fact. When I did bring some evidence some examiners just out right denied to even look at the paperwork let alone acknowledge it. This process IS everything, ESPECIALLY adversarial, that is putting it lightly. You are made to believe that the VA is there to help but I assure you in this stage of the game, if I can call it that, it is the rest of your days that hang in the balance, the cards are stacked against you. It's only by being aware of the shenanigans, and knowing your records that you can succeed. Studying the law and regulations that apply to your claim helps a lot to. I must also clearly mention that you have to be honest. If you are trying to scam the government or not being completely truthful, it will come out and hurt you more than anything the VA evildoers can do to damage your character. You are putting a big target on your head for the sniper to take you out. You don't want that. It is extremely difficult if not impossible to recover from. I believe one of my fellow hadit members say it best. " Conduct a mirror test". If you are being honest then you will prevail. One you file for it stick to your guns and fight till your last breath. There are steps that you can take to get a fair rating, but don't jeopardize your character and "the benefit of doubt" it is a strong weapon in your fight to get just compensation for your service injuries whether physical or mental injuries. JMHO