john999

Tell the truth and if your demons come out at the c&p all the better. Try not to attack the exam doctor. Better to break down in sobs.

I see where the VA is coming from on this CUE, but if the vet has any medical records showing he was mentally troubled before he shot himself I think the VA is on thin ice. If he was suffering from depression and their is documentation I don't see how they can win this on appeal. I would go through the motions and get a lawyer.

I did try and get local VVA to picket but they were shocked, simply shocked that a vet was not happy with the VA. The other VSO's would probably crap in their pants before they would contemplate such a move. Doing it by yourself makes you look like a crank. I can see plenty or reasons why informational picket might be good. I don't think it would help individual claims. You have to be careful and know all the laws because VA police would love to spray us to show their bosses they are doing something. John

If he is IU or 100% for PTSD he should not be on any waiting list for treatment at the VA. I would go see my congressman about that. Write the medical director that you know about the number of suicides of vets and, yet, your 100% vet is on a waiting list. This does not compute.

Half the people working for the DVA are disabled vets. I worked for them about 28 years ago for a short while. Everyone I worked for and with needed to be on some kind of psychiatric drugs.

When I got my C-File and really looked at it I found a copy of my original 1973 rating decision. Then I found a report from my private doctor dated 1972. I put 2 and 2 together and realized the VA had never used my doctor's report in my decision in 1973. Thanks to Hadit a bell started clanging in my head and I realized I might just have a CUE. If I had not gotten the copy of my file I never would have realized this because it had been so long ago. They could have just thrown the report from my doctor away and I would never have known it, but they are so arrogant and lazy they never looked in my file that deep in 30 years. Everyone with an old claim should read it again. My old claim is 40 years old and looks nothing like claims these days. It looks like a note from a claim.

Chuck They told Army guys the same thing about medical hold who were ETS'ing out of RVN. These guys have been away from home for at least a year and they want them to stay around for an extra 90 days or something for an exam. Of course, they said "Forget it and just let me go". This was a policy to cheat vets. The army had lots of ways to not document possible SC injuries.

Your pain clinic is quilty of malpractice. Every pain clinic prescribes opiates because they are the only thing that will treat some kinds of pain. You are being poorly served by your VAMC and I would take it up with medical director's office. My clinic was slow to prescribe opiates but did, in fact, precribe methadone, morphine, oxycodone and fentanyl at different time.

I never had an exit physical. Majority of RVN vets who were ETS'ing out of Nam did not have exit physicals I think.

What kind of treatment do you plan to get besides PT and pills? Are you ready to go under the knife? I have similar problem. No cure for stenosis that I know of except surgery.

If you don't get one from the VA download a copy off the net and send it to them about this time next year. I send the VA a filled out copy around the end of December if I get one from them or not. I make a copy and send it certified mail/return receipt. John

Livinginpain I feel your pain and I mean it. I went about ten years with pain in upper traps and shoulder. It drove me wild. I could not get good DX for it until recently. Doctors now think it is herniated disc and stenosis in my neck that causes referred pain. The treatment is an operation but they cannot promise it will cure the pain. I have good ROM but reflexes in my left arm are pretty dead. If you can find a doctor in or out of the VA who has the same problem you do then you might get some decent pain relief. I still suffer but get fentynal which helps some. John

Phil We won't forget you on Hadit. We will have cyber wake and funeral for you. You do need to get married so that someone can nag you to take out garbage and fix things around the house. This will make the time you have left seem much longer. I bet you live to be about 90 years old telling expanding war stories of RVN. I bet you ten dollars you live longer than I do. My spouse will pay off the bet and your future spouse can pay if you kick off first. John

Have you asked for a referral to VA pain clinic? I have been getting pain meds from the VA for about 7-8 years. I have sure had my problems with them. I signed a contract with them for the oxy and fentynal I get monthly. I am not worried about being thought of as a "drug seeker" by the VA since I am a pain relief seeker. You must convince the VA that you will get all your pain drugs from them or they won't prescribe them for you. When you get the pain level paperwork you always want to describe your pain without drugs as 7 or higher. Tell them your chronic pain affects every aspect of your life and pain meds help with every aspect of your life. In Florida where I live I have also had trouble with private pain doctors. Nobody has found a non-narcotic way to deal with serious pain. The Greeks believed opium was a gift from the Gods. Americans believe it is a poison from Satan. The VA says you have a right to have your pain treated. It is in their patient Bill of Rights. Thousands of vets suffer chronic pain. One problem with opiates is that you build tolerance over time. The VA freaks out and seems to think this is drug seeking behavior when the dose you are on is no longer effective. Also the VA fears that most of us are "drug seekers" and that we will either sell our meds or OD thus getting them in trouble. That is what they really care about with is their own asses. I keep my nose very clean, and if their is a problem it is on them. John

If he can't work due solely to his SC condition he is entitled to TDIU. What you need is medical evidence that definitely says this. If he were to get the same from a Vocational Rehab specialist it might be enough, but usually you want a cardiologist to say it. When did you apply for TDIU? That would be the date used to figure TDIU even if he was just 30% at the time. I filed for TDIU when I was 30%. I was bumped up to 70% later and eventually granted TDIU. I think for the heart alone the only higher rating than 60% is 100% so I think he could be TDIU. John

I got a traveling BVA hearing and it only took about a year to get it. I had a lawyer who did a brief. I found that the hearings are just intake sessions. They did not make a decision on the spot but took an extra six months to make the decision (a bad one). I think I might try a DRO Hearing to get another bite at the apple before I got in line at the BVA.

Yes, I have DMII and some related AO problems. This is really a national scandal but I am sure there are those who would say " Those vets are just getting old. They would have died anyway". 2. 7 million vets doomed to die from AO exposure by VA's own logic.

I don't think it is a CUE because it is not final yet, but the VA must look at your entire disability picture and determine that you have clearly and definitely improved. The burden is on them when they propose to reduce you. Are you TDIU?

If you consider the presumptive diseases for AO most of us exposed to it will die from it in some way or form. That's nice to know there is a time bomb ticking in your body.

WV Appeal your denials. Sometimes that is all it takes. Get every dime. Put the money in the bank. You or your kids will need it later if you are still able to work now.

Bronco You know the VA has the vet in a vice. If you match up your symptoms too closely with PTSD VA criteria you may be accused of faking it. If your symptoms don't match up close enough you will be denied.

Ever had a deep fried Twinkee? It is like the end of the Roman Empire. If my relatives survived the "Dust Bowl" and the Great Depression I think I can survive the Fiscal Cliff and a Twinkee freeze. Why worry?

If Voc Rehab rejects you that is good proof of TDIU. I was rejected by voc rehab and that helped in my TDIU. I did have a lot of evidence. I had evidence from Vet Center and two IMO's. I don't think you can have too much good evidence.

I can sure see such a skin condition leading to TDIU. If you are using Embrel you have a serios and possibly life threatening condition. Just using Embrel can be life threatening. I know you have read possible side effects. I am to the point where if VA granted me 100% I would still appeal it. They are such liars you don't know what they are hiding including EED or some other benefit.

If you are trying for eventual 100% or TDIU you should probably work on the insomnia, depression, chronic pain path instead of trying for 0% scars. You will never get to TDIU or 100% based on a two inch scar. If it was on your face that is different.