john999

My VA hospital asks quietly and usually in private for your full SSA number since they have made so many awful mistakes.... cutting of the leg of the wrong vet etc. Dental services they guard like Fort Knox. As if I am getting great care.....Ha!

Yes, there are a host of secondary conditions caused by DMII. I claimed PN, and heart disease as secondary and won those claims. Just google conditions secondary to DMII. What Meghpo405 says is true about DIC. You probably want an autopsy to establish links to DMII as contributing to cause of death.

I had TDIU since 2002. Around 2008 I got an extra 60% for an AO condition. I asked for "S" using Bradley V Peake in 2010 after I heard about that decision here on hadit. The VA called a CUE on themselves and granted me the "S" with about two years of retro. If your husband is total plus 60% he is entitled to "S". You should not even have to file a claim. Of course , I did because the VA was not to swift on the Bradley V Peake decision. I quoted Bradley v Peake as my authority for getting "S".

What I really detest is let's say you have claim on appeal for five years then you submit one piece of new evidence. The VA grabs onto that new piece of evidence and your new effective date for your award is the date the VA got the new piece of evidence.

Get the SSDI records yourself and submit them along with TDIU official application. You could be waiting for years for the VA to get your SSDI records.

Gabapentin has been used by VA for off label us as mood stabilizer for those with PTSD.

All SSRI's for depression cause ED. They were first produced as a cure for premature ejaculation. If you are 20 years old you can delay your ejaculation for two hours with a good dose of Paxil.

If about 75% of those I went to basic with had mental exams before they were drafted most would have flunked I am sure. Those that enlisted were obvious nut cases, and those who got drafted were not sly enough to avoid that fate. I enlisted, so by definition, I was a nut case. Who enlists in the army or marines during a war where the USA is not threatened, and nothing is at stake except crazy "domino theory" of world communist conspiracy?

If you are not SC for your back disability, and you tell the VA that is the reason you are IU then you are going to lose. You want to take it to the top? Are you prepared to wait 8 years? I have taken it to the top. It took about 8 years to get there. If you are sure in yourself that military caused you to be IU then get it any legal way you can. Don't start saying what you will or will not do to get TDIU or 100%. That is all rubbish and will just get you to skid row quickly. You are 60% now. Is one of your disabilities at least 40%? Go with what you have or prepare to wait. Do you really need the TDIU money? You moral questions mean nothing to the VA and they will shot you just like an 8 ball into the denied pocket. You must play by their rules and use their rules for your own gain or you lose! John

Get mental health help from non-VA source. I did when I got back form Vietnam and it saved my life. If I had gone to the VA I would have spent next 20 years in a nuthouse. Things at the VA have improved marginally, but they don't do psychotherapy. They do drugs. I went to a very stable private group therapy for years. My clinical psychologist was the key. If you think you can't afford it then can you afford to be going downhill for years?

Keep your trap shut about any traumatic events that happened to you either before or after service! Don't tell anyone anything at the VAMC, or at C&P exam that you don't want to come back to haunt your 25 years later. Your life was perfect before the military, and shit afterwards because of traumatic events you experienced in the military. That is the story you should stick with unless you want blowback. I speak from experience. John

If you have a PH, CIB, bronze star with V that would validate a stressor. Any combat ribbon or medal would validate a stressor, but you don't even need those to get a DX of PTSD anymore. You just need a VA shrink to say you have it. If you have any reasonable story that indicates you had reason to be in fear of enemy contact that's enough these days.

I have had a lousy claim in for a 10% increase in my DmII for 6 months and all the VA has to do is get the records from next door and evaluate them. My claim is in the "gathering evidence" phase. What gathering do those bums have to do? If they can drag out this small claim (but legitimate) I am glad I am not desperate for money. I was once and I swear if they had of denied me I would be in prison on death row hypothetically speaking, of course.

You can't hire a lawyer until you get your decision and file a NOD. Have you had an independent medical exam by private doctor? This is what you need. You can't depend on the VA for your compensation. I would file a claim for the anxiety/depression as soon as you get your present decision. You need to get a IME for the mental stuff as well, or you will end up with a 10% rating for that if you lucky. Are you able to work? If not you should have also applied for TDIU regardless of your rating. Stick around and you will get some good advice. I started out at 10% forty years ago. Now I am Total plus 60% which means 100% rate plus housebound SMC. My IME's were the only thing between me and skid row for my future. John

Yes

Since I have severe sleep apnea my private doctor prescribed adderal for me. It is speed, but I take small dose and I don't feel as much pain and I can stay awake. I know the VA is going to complain about this but it is a legal script and not used for pain, but just so I can stay awake during the day.

You are better off to get the NSC pension because you can get food stamps, public supported housing, and medicade I think. I met this poor old vet at the VA hospital in Tampa and he was on a NSC pension. He got food stamps and section 8 housing. His medical was done at the VA.

Get a lawyer! You have nothing in your SMR's about mental issues and you have been out over ten years. You have a ghost friend as in schizophrenia (delusions and hallucinations). I can tell you the VA is going to say this all happened after your discharge. What kind of discharge did you get? I was in a military nuthouse for two months and had DX of depression and anxiety which they later changed to personality disorder to boot me out of the army. I filed immediately after discharge and got a mere 10%. You have a battle on your hands and your buddy letters are all you have. Do you have a copy of your SMR's. Just file your NOD and shop for a lawyer. Were you ever in combat?

When you really need the money everyone is nervous and anxious about their VA decisions. I have been SC for 40 years and I am nervous about a hearing coming up next week. This is due to being F'ed over by the VA and feeling that they have all the power and can do anything to screw you. It is not true but they can just slow things down which hurts.

Is it possible to get SSD and VA pension at the same time? I was told by someone applying for the pension that since they got 1100 a month from SSD the VA said no pension. John

VA or military pension will not affect SSA at all. Did you work since 1987?

You can get chemical stress test if you can't take the walking test. I could not take the walking test due to bad feet from PN. The VA set up both stress tests for me via my PCP. If you have a good PCP they can get things done at the VA. If you have an Azzhole they will do nothing for you. For a VA doctor to tell you to go outside the system to see cardiologist ought to be enough to get that PCP fired even if it is true. The VA is mandated to provide "world class" health care for us. We know this is a joke, but I like to try and get them to live up to 25% of that mandate. The only way to find out for certain about heart blockage is the heart cath according to my private cardio. I am rated 60% for cad and I use the busiest VA hospital in the USA. I have never seen a cardio either, but tests were enough to win my appeal. My C&P was done by an nurse who was training another nurse how to really screw up a heart C&P. John

If you have evidence you can't work solely due to SC conditions, and you have date of last day of employment I don't know what the reason would be to defer your TDIU. Can you contact your last employer and get statement from him/her as to the last day your worked. This may be the problem and it will take the VA months if not years to get that information. They did that to me and I got the information myself and sent it to them. John

If you fire your VSO hire a lawyer. I am not too happy with my lawyer right now, but at least he returns phone calls. He has a lot to lose if he *&&^%$ up my claim. He signed on for 20% of my retro back to 1971 if we win, so he is motivated. Sometimes I want to wring his neck and sometimes I want to shake his hand. John

For what it is worth for housebound purpose TDIU and 100% scheduler are considered "Total" disability. Bradely v Peake brought this out to vets.