john999

My RVN buddy got 60% for combined PTSD and DMII claims for about $1100 a month with his spouse. He has had a terrble time with his wife having lung cancer. I had told him to file with the VA about 15 months ago for PTSD and the DMII. I had a hard time tracking him down since he was living out in the woods. With his retro he got a new roof on his house and a newer truck. They were living on air I think. I think he got 40% for the DMII and 30% for PTSD so he should be able to file for TDIU. I don't think he can take it all in at once. John

I think if vets could communicate with RO's the RO's would receive many thousands of letters and calls from vets and do even less work than they do now.

It can take much longer. My claim has been on appeal since 2006 and has made it up the chain all the way and remanded and back again in the last three years. I have at least a year to go for a decision and then who knows?

Count on waiting!

See if you can get IU and voc rehab. You probably won't make to age 66 as a guard with your problems. You need some non-physical work as a career. The worst thing is to turn down IU and then a year from now be unable to work and have to start over. You could be forced to wait a year with just your 80%.

Back in 1976 I began getting 100% benefits. I knew this was wrong since I was rated 10% as far as I knew. I called and wrote the VA. I returned the checks. The checks just kept coming. Finally, I started putting them in a savings account. One day the checks went back to 10% level and I never heard a word. This did not go on for years but for a few months. I owed the VA 102 bucks for overpayment of G.I. Bill and the bastards hounded me for over a year. I went to my congressman to show him their mistake. The VA backed off, finally. Pennywise and pound foolish. John

I think you need to file a claim for the money. I could be wrong but I don't think anything happens automatically with the VA.

Do you get TDIU? If you are still having serious symptoms and your doctors have documented it you should be OK. The best think to try and do is save cash for such a day just in case.

If you can't work due solely to your SC conditions you can apply for TDIU now.

If a spouse has his/her ducks in a row how long should a straight forward DIC claim take?

If you don't trust him then dump him. He was negative from the first about your PTSD claim. You don't want a guy like that asking for an increase for you. You could ask to have your claim reconsidered with new evidence. Just keep in mind the NOD clock is ticking. Sometimes reconsiderations are faster than the NOD/DRO/BVA route. 10% is probably too low for anyone with a DX of PTSD.

I also use medicare and my insurance from civil service for most of my care. I go to the VA for pills and to document my disabilites. My PCP sends me to a dermotologist after looking at my arms. It turns out the dermotologists only sees patiets once a week at 8:30 in the morning. I have poorly treated OSA. I am just not that awake at 6:30 am when I would have to get up, so I will just see a private skin doctor a mile away at 11am. It is the same with many other services at my VAMC. If there is no other way for me to get treatment I will get up at 5am if I have to, but I don't have to and I don't want to. John

Well, if you have DMII, for instance, and you lost limbs due to the disease you could get SMC's for that. There are ways to get SMC's for AO diseases but they are incidental to the disease not to being exposed to AO.

They should pay you from 2008 when you filed the claim for an increase.

They may have mixed your records up with another vet's. I would go in person and find out what is happening.

I live in Tampa, Florida and I have had many problems getting my meds filled on time. My pain meds should be filed on the first of the month. I get them any time between the first and the 8th. I take appropriate steps to make sure I am not left high and dry. I think many of us all over the country have the same problems. John

I wore my mask last night and my nose is so sore I can't wear it tonight. I woke up early with the mask leaking loudly. I am not a happy camper with this thing.

I think I just have some very overworked dentists who don't want to do anything beyond a few crowns and filings. I wish they would outsource me to a private provider. I only get an exam every two years. I have had most of my serious dental work done outside the VA system. There are just way too many vets in Florida. My VAMC serves over 250,000 vets. The dental clinic is tiny.

If you can prove you had "boots on the ground" then file for "boots on the ground" and Direct Connect. I think you are very lucky you have that documentation showing you were at TSN.

I advocated for two buddies of mine from Vietnam. They were so happy to get anything from the VA. I was anxious for them to really ask for more and not settle for the first thing the VA granted them. It is hard work doing claims for others, and much is lost in translation if you are doing it over the phone, or at long distance. One buddy got 40% for DMII and should be 100% for his heart as well. The other buddy is 30% for PTSD and has a claim in for DMII. Both should be 100%, and every time I call or write them I encourage them to appeal or get an IMO. Both are afraid the VA is going to take the money back and both have been poor for many years. Time is a real killer. One buddy is facing a death sentence and the VA is just dragging their heels. He lives some place in Idaho. Troy, do you work through an organization or on your own? I worked through AL for about 6 months as local post officer and not a paid claims guy. I got a woman trying to claim benefits for a husband who had never even been in the service.

Neurontin will probably knock you on your ass for a few days, but I am told you will get used to it rapidly. It is for nerve pain and it does some people a world of good. Some people don't get any benefit, my psychologist for instance. He has DDD and it did not help him. I run new drugs by him since I have been seeing him for about 40 years and he knows a lot. We are growing old together and he used to have a group with lots of Vietnam vets. There are other drugs in the same family: Lyrica, topomax and even clonazepam. They are anti-seizure meds but side effect is relief from nerve pain for some.

Presumptive AO claims usually go fast as long as you can prove "boots on the ground" and presumtive AO DX. I got DMII in about 8 months with PN. I got CAD as secondary to DMII in 5 months. I did have good letters from VA doctors. It gripes my ass that they are causing you stress over this open and shut claim. You will get it.

My problem with the VA is that they are anxious to pull teeth and reluctant to do implants even when obviously needed. Now if you go to them needing 20,000 bucks of dental work they are a God send.

If the c&p doctor said you can't work that should be or have been enough to get tdiu unless the VA wants to impeach their own doctor.

I think I would enter the last date I made more than poverty level for #15. For #17 if you have not worked in last 5 years then say so. Your SSA work history can prove this and you can submit this as evidence. At the most they will only go back one year from the time you filed for TDIU unless they were to infer TDIU. When were you DX'ed with any sort of emotional/mental disability for the first time by the VA?