john999

I think spouses on welfare get more than those on DIC. The person on welfare of SSI gets food stamps, section 8 housing, a little cash, totally free medical care, and more. I am not saying poor people should have less. I am saying those on DIC should have more, much more. Disabled vets should get more as well. Some don't think they deserve more, but after fighting to get it for 40 years I want more just for the VA inspired PTSD superimposed on existing PTSD. I want revenge! John

What do you think a 100% award retro to 1971 might be? I had lots of hearings on this issue. The DRO would agree with my lawyer and me and then write a denial. I want to see if I can get a million dollars from these mothers. As long as you get the money who cares about a hearing or appeal?

I use a separate humidifier that really makes the room "moist". My CPAP machine also has humidifier. I sleep on my back since I have TMJ on one side and shoulder pain on the other. I think I could just hang myself up in the closet with my head in a bucket.

I think you refer to them as "inferred claims". That is when from the evidence the VA has they have a duty to infer a claim such as TDIU if they know a vet is on SSD for his SC PTSD. However, as has been said they almost never do this. If a C&P exam doctor was doing a exam on your AO DMII and discovered a heart condition how can the doctor just ignore that inferred claim and not inform you or your PCP?

I have to file paper every month to get my oxy and fentanyl. No matter when I mail in the form I may get my script on, say, June 2 to June 10th. I get exactly a one month supply. What do you think I do so that I don't go into "Jones". I don't buy off the street or pill mills or doctor shop. I have tried to explain that if I don't get these pills on time I will go into withdrawal. The VA does not care. I have talked to medical director, congressman etc. It gets better for a few months and then back to the same variability. I get the impression they just want to boot me off the program which I know they do since I have been on opiate program for 5 years plus. Now I am dependent. There solution is "just take less". I get the other drugs ok except the constantly keep removing drugs from active list. We are just dogs to them. No, dogs are treated better.

I would say that with or without the mask I wake up about every 90 minutes. I also have to readjust my mask often. Usually, if I have slept for a couple of hours and wake up the mask hurts. My face hurts. At some point I may just take the mask off and get a few hours without the pain in my face. The provider came over today to replace the chip in my machine. They are going to find sporadic use because the different masks hurt my face and it takes a day for my face to stop hurting before I can wear it again. If I wear it a full 8 hours I usually have a nice, red and painful spot on my nose or face. I am supposed to haul this thing around if I go on a trip....ugh! My doctor is a real fanatic about sleep apnea. I just hope he can understand what his patients go through with these masks. I don't mind the mask or the minor noise. I just don't like waking up with red patch where skin is being rubbed off and turning into a sore. John

I know that taking clonazepam and oxy makes the apnea worse. I get this stuff from the VA. I am afraid if I filed a claim the VA would just cut off my pain meds because I get fentanyl and oxy. They have tried in the past to kick me out of the program because they say I have been getting narcotics too long. They got me dependent and now they say we made a mistake. Any drug that relaxes you is going to probably make apnea worse. John

I really had no idea I had severe sleep apnea until I got the study done. My wife said I snored. Finally , on advice from my "private" psychologist I got a sleep study done. It was so bad they called me and told me to come back for another study where I would wear a mask. I did take sleeping pills because I could not get to sleep. They said my oxygene levels dropped into the 70's and I stopped breathing for a minute. My heart rate was steady at 55 beats. Maybe that is why I am not dead already. The mask is my problem. I have to wear the full mask because my pressure is very high to keep my air tube open. I have had five masks. They hurt. They leak. If you want to fly to Australia you can get a custom made mask.....only $1500 bucks for the mask. John

The VA should have inferred TDIU if they now you have not worked in a year due to SC conditions.

Were you accused of fraud because you have a college education? I was at a C&P. I was also told that my behavior while waiting for the exam differed greatly from the actual exam meaning I was faking it according to my C&P. I had another C&P where the doctor had a list of questions designed to ask "Have you stopped beating you wife yet" over and over until they could DX a PD. I had a C&P where the doctor said he could not determine if I was TDIU because I was unemployed at the time. This is the reason the IMO/IME is the most useful tool in the tool box. Really, you need doctors in private sector that work for you as advocates. Almost all private psychiatrists and psychologists will do this to a greater or lesser extent. I did have an IME that was so good that the VA just incorporated it directly into my rating decision word for word. John

You got enough for TDIU right now. Have you applied for SSD?

Before you get IMO's it is a good idea to get a copy of your C-File so doctor can say that he reviewed your file and SMR's. If you don't have a copy how can he review it. The VA has pulled that trick before to my knowledge. The vet had the doc use the standard language "After a careful review of all the vet's SMR's and current medical records....". The vet did not have his SMR's. The VA found out and threw out his IMO. John

I am trying to teach my wife that the little dollars add up and not to just blow it off becasue it is 15 bucks and we can afford it for now. I want her to learn the system. On medical she knows how to deal with ChampVA, but the pills......she does not get it. The only reason I can think as to why ChampVA won't accept electronic billing is because they know a good percentage won't bother with the paperwork.

Since your life my depend on in I would not get CPAP and sleep study done at the VA unless I had no other means. I have had a hard time with getting a good fit with my mask. My doctor has a staff that deals with the sleep lab and the providers. They read them the riot act. My provider did not want to provide me with a mask that fit. They wanted $200 from me. My doctor's assistant kicked a 2 by 4 up their asses. When I have a problem my doctor's office responds immediately. His office is about 3 miles from my house. He knows my psychiatrist and my psychologist. He will put the fear of God into these durable equiptment providers because he can really shaft them since he is at the top of his profession. To him apnea is a holy cause. It sounds funny but he thinks untreated apnea is a national scandal. John

If your congressman takes a very personal interest in your claim I think it can help as well. Most of them just play patty cake with the VA. I emailed the Secretary of the VA one time. I got almost immediate action on my claim. Since then the email address has vanished. Some others did the same thing. The VA is like a big slug. You would like to bury your foot up someone's ass ,but who? Everyone passes the buck. If the congressman worked for you then more power to you.

I think it could be settled also anytime the VA wants to settle it.

My wife as Blue Cross as her primary insurance which has RX. She went to the drug store and asked for the pharmacy to bill ChampVA as secondary. ChampVA said "we won't accept electronic claims for secondary drugs bills". Then they said there are some programs in ChampVA that do accept electronic claims. My wife has to pay $15 dollars co-pay on her one script and if we want money back we have to use the manual claim forms and itemized bill etc. What kind of crap is that? What century are they in besides 19th century? Is this just to save money by making it a pain in the ass to ask for $15 bucks. Is Champva blowing smoke at me or does every spouse who has champva as secondary have to send in claim forms by mail to get her money back? What if spouse had 6 drugs and $150 co-pay and was 80 years old? They have to download claim forms and get itemized bills etc and wait a year to get paid? I don't like being cheated out of a dime much less 15 bucks just because the VA has rigged the system to make it hard on people. John

Dental problems can cause severe headaches. I had a wisdom tooth that had somehow been pushed into my sinus. It showed up during a complete dental exam. I had to go into the hospital to have the tooth removed from my sinus. The tooth had created a cyst that was destroying bone etc. The real dentist discovered it and started to get excited. He called other dentists to feel the cyst. I knew that my "interesting problem" was not going to be interesting for me. So-called wisdom teeth can raise hell. John

That 2009 claim that is supposed to be certified to the BVA is just gathering dust. Is this an important claim?

Shwebb Stay with us and when you get your decision post the "reasons and basis" so we can look at it. This is the time to get your IMO to rebut what the VA has said including lies, misinterpretations, revisions other sleezy VA tricks. Do you have a private treating doctor. Have you ever used any medications for the problems you are having. I was self-medicating and you know why before I got access to a real doctor outside the army.

I have had more than one hearing on the same issue at the VARO. As Pete has said before a vet is entitled to a personal hearing any time during his claim. I had two hearings on my CUE at the VARO. Both denied. When I hired a lawyer I got another DRO on the same topic except my lawyer did a brief. The DRO had no idea what to do. He had never had to deal with a lawyer before. I got a very quick denial and a trip to the BVA via a hearing where we had another brief that the judge did not read at the hearing. I do believe in DRO hearings, but when they involve a lot of retro or some very major issue I would not expect too much. They have a distinct lack of guts and will kick the case upstairs and on and on. I have won claims at the DRO and I would always ask for a DRO hearing before I went to the BVA. John

Not many know what derealization and depersonalization mean. They are symptoms of dissociative disorder. I had them after a terrific shock I got in Vietnam. The army did not even acknowledge these problems. They said I had a personality disorder. I told them everything looked like it was part of a movie set and that the world had turned grey and colorless. They said I was just malingering. The only way to really tell about your IME's is to wait for the decision. If it is a bad decision get the IME's to do autopsy on it and rebutt everything QTC quack says. That is how I did it. I had IME's before and after decisions. Use the mistakes the VA makes as ammunition to blow them out of the water. The VA doctors used to just ask me two questions at exams: 1. Do you hear voices 2. Are you working.

Yes, it makes sense.

I know it Carlie. When I read old files it always sets me off due to injustice of it. I am not sure at this second of how to make them pay but can you imagine a court procedure where your expert witness refuses to release his records and your lawyer agrees without seeing them? Can you imagine a legal procedure under UCMJ where only one side is represented and your lawyer and doctor help prosecution hang you. I know they probably got the word that " help get rid of this guy or your next duty station will be Da Nang". I know UCMJ is just a Kangaroo court but I am still mad 40 years later. The shrink who refused to testify or turn over his records treated me for at least 5 months. The Command wanted me gone and I was gone. There may be hidden money here some place. John

Get it while you can because I forsee it getting harder to get PTSD DX as war in Afghanistan winds down. How long will it take for American public to forget the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? They are already forgetting and they are forgetting the warriors as well. The VA is going to slip something into the regs to make it much harder to get PTSD compensation. Now you have to have PTSD confirmed by VA doctor. What next?