john999

No, I would just claim PTSD. Don't get the VA off the track with something they can claim is not SC.

The private sleep doctor who has been treating me is getting fed up with me because his treatments are not working for me. This is a situation I have faced before where doctor starts to get distant and hostile because "HE" is failing to fix you. I see the VA on April 30th for sleep evaluation? I do think I will try the dental device before I let some ENT operate on my nose and throat. Previous operation when I was a teenager may be why I am having trouble now. The ENT wants to harvest material from my ear to reinforce my nostrils which close up like when you suck on a straw too hard. John

Ok, I will ask about the dental appliance. My ENT wants to do a operation on my nose because the nasal valve collapses thus cutting off breathing through the nose. He also says too much flesh in my soft palate. I want to do this one step at a time, but it seems I get conflicting advice from every doctor I see.

What I think is that Bob was screwed with a NSC rating and then a 10% rating. There is probably a cue in there somewhere and a good lawyer might find it. I was 10% for 20 years because I would not go back to the VA for treatment. When I went back for treatment I got 30% right away, and 70% some years later. I had no idea how to fight against the VA and DAV,VFW and AL were worthless. You look at those miserable decision letters from the 60's and 70's and there is just no question the ratings are arbitrary. Like I have said before the exam doctor would ask me if I has hearing voices or seeing things and if I said "NO" I would get a denial for an increase from 10%. I did not know they were just disregarding my doctor's notes since he was private. I spent a lot of money seeing a private therapist and I think the VA resented that and held it against me when I asked for increases. They wanted me to go to their quack and drink the cool aide. If I had known I would have told them aliens were visiting me from planet Uranus. John

Berta I filed a claim for my SMC "S" that had never been granted. It came back as the VA calling a CUE on themselves. I got two years of retro on that one. It was a Bradley v Peake case. It may seem straight forward CUE but the VA plays with the regulation. I just happened to have the exact formula in my claim. John

Phil My Cpap does not work because I can't get a good fit with any mask I have tried. I have a problem breathing through my nose so that rules out nose hose. I have pretty high pressure so I always have leaks and the noise wakes me up plus it dries me out even with humidifier. I am just not a happy camper with the Cpap. The last sleep study done by civilian doctor's lab I could not get to sleep at all. I do think I have apnea because my sleep is awful and I snore. The sleep study confirmed apnea, but I find that every doctor or dentist I go to has his/her own remedy. You can even get a dental devise off the internet where they send you some mush to bite into to make a mold of your teeth. You send it back and they make the device. Cheap. John

I know when I ask for a RECONSIDERATION I write it in big caps across the top of the page. The VA does not read half the stuff they get. I filed a CUE and they sent me a VCAA letter. They are not supposed to do this. Then they tried to use a exam report that was made 15 years after the CUE to discredit my claim. I filed a NOD on that denial reminding the dimwits that they could not use anything but what was before the VARO at the time of the CUE. It was like kindergarden had let out and they all went to work for the VARO. These mistakes added extra years to my CUE I know. It is still at CAVC for second time. Just prepare to wait if you are asking for 30 years of retro! I hope you live long enough to collect. John

The VA finally agreed to treat my apnea. I have an appointment nice and early in the morning when I am half asleep due to "Apnea". The VA sleep Lab people did not listen to what I was asking them. They are going to provide me with a new CPAP. I already have one that is not working for me. What I need is new ideas for treating my apnea. I went to local ENT guy and he says I need an operation to open up my nose, but the surgery is fast but not fool proof. He also wanted to do surgery on my palate. He was going to do it in his office with a local. I said "NO,NO,NO". I talked to my dentist on the outside and he said he did not think the dental appliance would help me, but he would be glad to charge $500 bucks to make one. People with any chronic condition enter the shark tank of possible quack remedies and unnecessary surgery. I know since simple Cpap has not worked for me I must work with this thing.

Nancy I had no idea that DMII could be a cause of pancreatic cancer. I was exposed to AO and now have DMII for about the last 6 years. I have often said AO would be the death of all surviving Nam vets. What a sham! We older guys who were exposed to AO need to keep getting our labs done even if we feel fine.

Bob If you have your records(C-File) see if you can get a real lawyer. A lawyer can at least protect your rights if you have to go to the CAVC. I had a traveling BVA judge and all he did was in-take. My lawyer presented a well thought-out brief. The judge was not ready for that and was very unused to dealing with a real lawyer. Once it gets past BVA you can't present new evidence, but it all becomes legal arguments at CAVC. The BVA judge was probably afraid you would say you did not have representation at the hearing so he refused to do it. That is new because they used to just roll over vets who did it pro se. John

File the CUE if you have one. Asking for an EED back to 1983 on a final decision would have to be a CUE. Once the claim is final the only way to open it up back to the original date is a CUE. You have to show the exact error that occurred in your 1983 rating. I am going back to 1973 and even when you have evidence of error you face a hell of a fight when asking for 30-40 years of retro. John

Patrick Your date for DIC is 2004 or if you die at anytime from SC condition. You were total in 2004, so your date for DIC for survivors is 2014 on the EED of your claim. TDIU is considered total disability and you don't even have to be P&T. I was granted "S" in 2008 because I was TDIU as of 2001 and was total plus 60% in 2008.

Wonderful events in your life T-bird!

MDD and anxiety neurosis is a chronic disease as far as I know that would come under the one year presumptive. I think this could put you over 100% mark. I would file on this if I were you. If you were never seen for MDD and anxiety disorder then the one year date is important. I filed for a emotional disability within a year of discharge and I believe it made the difference between SC and no SC. Don't think that MDD is not serious because many people are totally disabled by it at one time or another. Are you a combat vet or did you have hazardous duty pay? This could be changed to PTSD down the line as the symptoms of MDD and anxiety disorder are very similar to PTSD. Just saying. I would file on the MDD and anxiety for sure even if you have to go for a C&P. John

Berta, I think you are right. I do remember many RVN vets who passed on exit exam due to fact they were ETSing right out of Nam and did not want to hang around for a exit exam since they were telling us it could take months etc. Just lies and BS to save a buck. I never got any kind of exit exam except what some doctor I never met said about me. John

I got an IMO just to get P&T. The first IMO letter from the doctor did not say "vets condition is permanent. It was obvious that the condition was permanent, but they needed to see the words. It cost me once again but I got P&T within one year of getting TDIU. If you don't get P&T (chapter 35) you can appeal that particular part of a 100% or tdiu award. John

They did this crap during Vietnam and are still doing it to save money. PD discharges instead of psychiatric discharges. This has been going on for decades. VA changing psychiatric DX to PD or adjustment disorder to save a buck. It is immoral and probably illegal if you can prove it.

If this is a chronic condition the VA recognizes you need to file within one year of discharge. Is this a serious condition that is going to mean significant compensation? How much time do you have left before you hit one year since discharge? Unless I was really hurting for money I think I would file on it before you go beyond one year from discharge. It might slow down your current claim. Is it worth it. You are might close to 100% as is. Is the 90% a military rating? John

My lawyer seems to be doing a lot of CUE claims. If you want his name and number let me know. I got him started on CUE claims about 5 years ago. He said if he could not win mine he would never do another one. If you lose at BVA you will get plenty of offers to go forward to CAVC. It will probably take six months to get an answer from the BVA unless you get lucky. Go for it! John

I think you need an explanation regarding how the VA came up with their numbers etc. This is the way the VA used to do their decisions back in 60's and early 70's. Just a page or two with no reasoning or explanation of evidence or basis of how they got to the compensation level or date. What about appeal rights etc? I know you just got this and are happy to get it, but you probably have a high enough rating for TDIU if that is that applies. John

If they don't mail it to you then download it and fill it out and mail it to them. The VA is famous for hauling vets up for not submitting this form and proposing to cut off TDIU when they never even sent the form to the right address. I would at least send it "Proof of Mailing" when I send it. I send mine in every year after Christmas even if they don't send me one. They match you through SSA earnings to see if you worked or not. John

I think they are pretty good if your doctor says you are unemployable. Did you file for SSD yet? I don't know much about concurrent receipt, but if you can't work due to SC conditions then you are TDIU. You need your shrink or a private shrink to write a report and say you are unemployable solely due to PTSD in my opinion. Your chronic pain is making the PTSD worse and vice versa so that is a good bet. John

What makes it complicated to me is that in 1968 and years afterward there was no such thing as a DX of PTSD. If the VA gave you a DX of anxiety disorder or depression and rated it 10% that does not represent the true nature of PTSD and how disabling it can be. From my own experience with ratings for emotional disorders during and right after Vietnam you had to be chewing the carpet to get a rating higher than 10%. Now people who are discharged for PTSD get at least 50% and the VA almost never gives less than 30% for PTSD. A buddy of mine from Nam just got a 30% rating for PTSD in 2012. I had urged him to go to the VA and file on his DMII. He lived in the woods with his wife and they were out of the loop in a big way. He got a rating for the DMII and some how got a rating for PTSD as well. I got a rating in 1973 for depression, anxiety and schizophrenia of just 10%. The VA thought I was crazy, but not enough to pay more than $28 a month. My quest for higher rating dating to 1971 is based on evidence that was in the record, but not in the decision as in "excluded from". Then there is the guy who is friend of a friend who took acid or PCP in the 70's in the Navy and got 100% for psychosis for the next 40 years who is as sane as anyone. If you file a CUE on these things the system is so heaped against you it is not even funny. The only easier way is for some service records to be found that indicates treatment or DX in service for a condition that is obviously more than 10% in severity.

What does Wal-Mart do for 100% vets in OKlahoma? Is this just for Oklahoma?

Chuck You are right on this for sure. A young person has to be a fool to put on the uniform during war time. A person who becomes 100% at a young age is going to be poor for the rest of their lives. I was able to work and get a federal retirement plus SSD and 100% VA, but for a family this is no big money. My federal retirement is about 1200 bucks a month for 30 years under FERS. You can't be truly middle class unless you make six figures these days. If you house costs 300,000 you are hard pressed to pay the mortgage on one income. My father was better off than I was at age 40. He could support a wife and three kids on one income. He bought a house for 12,000 bucks in a nice area. My mother stayed at home and never expected to have to work until he died young. We as a nation are going backwards I think. Most people now do not have pensions and are grossly underinsured. My father's VA life insurance paid off the house when he died. How many could do that today?