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john999

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Everything posted by john999

  1. Yeah, I like your chance at getting the knee connected as secondary. You know you have enough to get TDIU as is without getting 100% schedular. I had TDIU for years before I got actual 100%. Getting from 90% to 100% is very hard. You need an extra 50% to get there. VA math is a killer. I had 93% rounded down to 90%. I finally got 100% when I added an extra 80% and even then I got 98% rounded up to 100%. If you are not working just go for TDIU. Much easier!
  2. You want to prove that you have a disability. You don't want to show yourself doing a triathalon to show disability. The VA might ask "Hey, if you can compete in a triathalon what disability do you have?" If you had a picture of yourself limping with a crutch that would be better. This is just my common sense opinion.
  3. If you have DMII or use pain meds then you have a good case for "K". Ask your VA doctor to get you a script for this problem.
  4. VA would rather you slip in the tub and break your hip than give you a walk-in shower. That is really penny wise and pound foolish. Maybe they think you will die if you break your hip or neck in the slippery tub.
  5. High blood leading to heart disease and stroke is generally accepted medical science, but you still need a MD to say so. I had CAD diagnosed as secondary to service connected diabetes by a VA doctor believe that or not? Even so when I had my C&P the nurse that did my exam said my heart disease was not service connected. So that meant an appeal and I did win it. Bronco's advise is spot on and covers the hoops you must jump through. It is so easy for VA C&P's to just deny or low ball your conditions. Be ready to file an appeal if it does not to your way. If your high blood is service connected I think you have a very good chance of getting connected for heart disease, but get your medical evidence in line.
  6. I would have your wife reapply. I think the Caregivers program turns everybody down the first time. Do you have a physical disability as well? VA has perverted the intent of the Caregivers Program. They pretend you must be bedridden to get the care. If your wife has had to quit work to care for you then you deserve it. Maybe get a doctor's note saying if you don't have care from your wife you will need to be put in a nursing home. You are entitled to VA nursing home care. VA does not want to pay for that. You have to stand on their necks to get help. I might write my congressman as well.
  7. If you want to get evaluated for a higher level of A&A do have to file a claim first or can you get an evaluation from VA first before you file? I got two 20% ratings for both feet and a 40% and 30% for my arms. I got "S" but what do I need for higher A&A? I am not even sure if it worth the effort to claim it.
  8. If you file for A&A or for a new claim then VA will probably just give you a C&P for the A&A or the new claim. They just have too much on their plate with hundreds of thousands of new claims under PACT and with aging vet population. Older vets have more wrong with them and their conditions tend to get worse.
  9. After I got TDIU P&T in 2001 I have filed 7 other claims all of which have been successful. I have never been called in to have my original claim looked at in the last 20 years. VA is too busy with PACT to go after old claims. They have many thousands of new claims to worry about.
  10. If VA wants to examine you and you refuse you have a problem. I would avail myself of VA care if I were you just for documentation reasons. VA keeps good records of your medical issues. I got service connection for 7 different conditions related to agent orange and it was all in my VA medical records. It was a slam/dunk. You can go to the VA and let them treat.
  11. Most definitely get VA doctor. That is how I have won all my agent orange claims. You may think VA medical is poor, but they do keep a long trail of documentation. That doc. trail will win your claims for you. I have been getting VA care for many years and my "problem list" is as long as your arm. Plus VA gives you meds for every condition. This is proof of the severity of your problems. It makes claims for presumptive conditions so easy. When VA asks for medical it is all there at the VA already. I know Burn Pit presumptives are a mile long
  12. Is your DM11 service connected? If it is then there are many secondary conditions related to it. You should check it out. Do you have toxic exposure?
  13. You never know about C&P exams. The last one I had was so good it lead to 100%. The C&P nurse/doctor was pretty incompetent, but it was to my advantage. I had asked for increase for my DMII and, instead, got 80% for PN which I did not expect. As James says I would not fear the exam if you have ducks in a row. Since you do have toxic exposure I feel optimistic about your outcomes. Continue to go to VA for healthcare and keep track of additions to your exposure profile. Were you exposed to burnpits?
  14. If you have toxic exposure based on VA assumption then all things are possible. VA assumes I was exposed to Agent Orange. On that basis I have eight conditions which have been conceded to be service connected. These conceded conditions have secondaries. I would work the toxic exposure issue to the maximum degree. What is your exposure? I would definitely try to get 100% because you can continue to work and possibly receive SMC benefits at the same time. Getting 100% VA benefits will make your eventual retirement a whole lot better since those benefits are tax free. You combine 100% and usual SSA benefits and you have enough to live on. Think ahead to your retirement and make the plan. Age and disability creep on you really fast.
  15. I think you need a real expert to help with your A&A claim. The VA does not even understand their own system. They do tend to award lowest level of A&A and then let you fight for more. A&A is a distinct world of the VA where the language is so ambiguous the VA can deny these claims or spin them out forever.
  16. Just from my experience I would think the VA would order a C&P just to take a look at you. If you do go for an exam just be sure to look your worst. If you could arrive in a wheelchair that would be best. Make sure someone else brings you to the exam. I got HB due to 100% plus 60%. That is the easiest way. I would prepare for a battle and hope they use common sense. There are people that are experts with these things, and I mean No Result. VA tends to give lowest rating for A&A as possible.
  17. PF can really cripple you if it is bad. I have DMII so I claimed nerve damage to my feet. I got 40% on each foot. If you have DMII it is good to claim PN because you can get much more money than flat feet or PF. The test for PN is a physical exam. They prick your feet and ask if you feel it. When your feet really hurt and swell it is hard to know just what is wrong. Don't get surgery for your feet if you can help it.
  18. That is something to think about if you do a lot of volunteering and are TDIU. The thing is how would the VA know that you volunteer two days a week at the local library. If you volunteer at the DAV or VFW in high profile situation that might not be good. The weird thing is that most VSO's are disabled vets. I believe that there is an age exemption for those who are TDIU and want to work. If you are 70 years old will VA come after you if you bag groceries part time at the local market?
  19. You really never know what these guys will say on your report. Some will be hostile and some favorable. It is a crap shoot. I have had these C&P docs say some outrageous things to me about other vets.
  20. I would get the 10 grand with the waiver. The other extra insurance is expensive. Just save your money and create you own insurance plan. I am pretty much self insured these days. All this damned insurance for house, health, car, flood etc. costs me a fortune.
  21. Yes, if you have ChampVA you don't need a Medicare supplement. My wife's insurance with regular Medicare is better than mine. I have insurance via the National Association of Letter Carriers. Very good insurance. With Medicare I pay nothing except for drugs. My wife pays nothing. I stick with regular Medicare and steer clear of Medicare Advantage since Part C is private insurance and not Medicare. To me it is a scam to destroy regular Medicare. Part C advertises non stop and is misleading people. Part C can change their benefits any time they like and then you can lump it. I know lots of people get Part C because they cannot afford part D and the supplement. I am talking about non-100% vets and their wives and kids.
  22. I just found out that my grandfather who died in 1953 was a deserter from the Navy back in 1906. The wise guy then changed his name and joined the Army. What a guy. I never knew him because I was only 3 when he died. You talk about a mad sailor. I think when he got orders for one of those long cruises he jumped ship and went AWOL. He was a minor criminal in his youth. He got straight after he met and married my grandmother. He did spend 6 months in jail for some other crime. You know in those days there was no SSA or even driver's license required as far as I know. You could go across state lines and start a new life with a new name. This may be TMI but it entertains me.
  23. I think we should invite Berta back to the game. I got "S" for being TDIU P&T, and an extra 60%. Bronco helped with that. I am not housebound per say. However, going out to the VAMC is hard on me due to my bad feet and parking problems. I don't think you must be totally stuck at home to get HB. If you are stuck at home how would you get treatments? I go to the VA about 4-5 times a year and I have to drive 20 miles. That is nothing for many vets drive 50 miles one way. Every time I go to the VA the nurse asks me if I have fallen. I tell them "Yes, and I busted my head". They just note and go on by. The care we get is substandard. Real doctors don't act like that as if they did not give a damn.
  24. Flip I have about 10 conditions besides the ones I actually got service connected for. VA medical and VA compensation don't even talk to each other. My VA doctor knows nothing about agent orange. All she sees is a patient in front of her. We could be coming from the moon. VA doctors are generally hacks who just want to do their 8 hours and go home. Then there is the pharmacy which is a world onto its own. I have to call my congressman once a month to get them to send my drugs on time to the right place. I send my congressman $25 every time they help get the VA off their asses. It actually works here in Tampa. I just wish I had a bigger hammer.
  25. You know VA often tends to forget or ignore their own regs. I was entitled to "S" for a couple of years before I found that out for myself. I did file a claim for "S" and VA called CUE on themselves. I think that if I had not filed the claim for "S" I never would have gotten it. I got two years retro on the "S". I know a vet is not supposed to have to file a claim for "S" but there it is. No claim, no S in my situation. There is no argument here just the VA doing stupid stuff and us having to figure it out.
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