john999

When was your SSDI effective? The sooner they know your SSDI ED the VA should consider that when they grant your IU effective date. That really sets your TDIU date in stone. I sent in my SSDI award letter and that was the EED I got even though it was only about 6 months. Being in decision phase I don't know what to say. If the VA knows you are on SSDI for a SC condition that is an inferred claim for IU. You never hear them admit that since they stick with the date you filed for IU. If the VA knows you have a significant impediment to employment from a SC condition the VBM says that is an inferred claim for IU. John

Was he a Vietnam vet?

I had a face-to-face with a BVA Board member. I had an attorney with me. He had done a complete brief with 50 some odd pages of cases, arguments, exhibits etc. The BVA judge gave us about 15 minutes. He was just there to gather some information like doing in-take. Some other judge did the dirty work. If you have a CUE that is not as clear as an unmuddied lake and if there is considerable retro involved I suggest you get to the venue where decisions can really be made. I am at the COVA. I am not even sure I will win there with my CUE. If people actually have to think you don't get much of that inside the VA, so good luck and God speed! I think I would get the lawyer for your mother. At least they can't directly walk right over you. The lawyer wants part of the retro. John

What I do is use the VA for paper trail and use a real doctor for actual treatment. I used a private clinical psychologist for many, many years. He actually helped me avoid a life on the fringe of society. I used the VA for pills and to make the paperwork. I I had stuck with just what the VA had to offer I would be institutionalized. I am not kidding. If you have any emotional problems/TBI get a private doctor who you can trust and who will be there for you. My long time VA doctor just quit and left no referral for me. The VA dropped me off the mental health list. I had to get back on and wait two months for an appointment. John

If you are looking for treatment that is one thing but if you are looking for SC that is another. I would not go to the VA for treatment if I had other resorts. Not everyone does have other resorts. My treatment at the VA pain clinic convinced me not to go there for real treatment. John

When the military sees that you have a mental problem they first start to find some way to get you out of the service without having to pay a pension. The easiest way is to find some misconduct and throw you out as some sort of misfit or bad conduct dischargee. This is very easy to do with a person who suffers from depression and anxiety and PTSD. A couple of dirty urine tests and you will be on your way to a life time of fighting with the VA over service connection. John

The VA hounded me for years over a G.I. Bill debt. I had to go to my congressman to get help. I was trying to live off the G.I. Bill in 1974 plus pay tuition and go to school full time. So I was starving, but the VA wanted that $200 dollars until my congressman demonstrated to them I could not even pay rent. So if it is a small debt you might as well pay it or be prepared to fight. John

I do know that for the courts martial the army went back and "cleaned" my medical records of everything but dx'es of personality disorders. The made the dx of anxiety and depression go away. It has been 42 years so I want to see this doctor's records before the VA sees them. You know there is a mighty powerful motivation for these military psychiatrists to go along with the program or find themselves in Vietnam in those days. I know I was just one of thousands who got the shaft. There is just an institutional bias in the courts martials and these administrative discharges to get rid of the soldier as cheaply as possible. I was 20 years old and they were leaning on me with full weight of UCMJ. I signed all the papers that were put in front of me because my own lawyer told me I was looking at jail and a bad conduct discharge. It was a plea bargain with a person(myself) on anti-psychotic drugs at the time. John

Looking through my old personnel file I discovered that my psychiatric records of the last months of my service existed but my army shrink refusded to turn them over to a courts martial board saying he was still treating me and this might hurt our theraputic relationship. He did not mind signing the board's recommendation that I be tossed out after 29 months of active duty as a PD. You read these old records as an adult and not as a scared 20 year old and you see just how you got slam/dunked. I have asked for these records many times but I am sure they have been destroyed by now. John

What Pete says and you need an indpendent medical opionion of your own to rebutt what this witch doctor has said about you.

MP Yes, they will reduce your OPM by 60% of your SSDI. Are you going to keep the OPM health insurance? I kept mine via family plan and I got about $300 a month net from OPM. Of course, this makes TDIU or 100% from the VA almost a given. The Feds are anxious for you to take OPM before you get the crazy idea you might be eligible for OWCP wage loss. Are you retired military, I forget? You will be doing OK no matter since you will get SSDI, OPM and TDIU. The bulk of your money will come from TDIU or 100% VA. You have the means to wait the VA out so go for it! Jbasser, Testvet, me, you and a few others are in this boat and none of us wanted to be there but we will have more in retirement than all those people who cast doubt on us. John

I know that when I saw him for lunch along with Carlie and Phil he was having trouble with fluid backing up into his lungs.

No doubt your apnea makes the other heart problems worse and more dangerous. I don't know if that shows a nexus between apnea and existing heart problems. I would not worry so much about service connection as I would treatment for the apnea and close work with a cardiologist to see how the apnea increases your risks. It would be good to know if apnea could be secondary condition of existing heart condition such as arterioscelorisis.

Let's consider that a vet is unable to work due to SC condition. He/she is waiting 400 days to get a decision including a DRO. That is an unreasonable hardship. Unless this vet has assests or some other means of income he/she is broke and probably ruined financially. Most Americans live from paycheck to paycheck. Who can go 6 months without a paycheck?

The BVA makes errors as well. You combine those with VARO errors and you probably have much worse error rate. Then you have legal gun battles at court of vet appeals and years and years go by.

If you had exams in January I think you are close. You have one of the best lawyers in the business. I would call his office and don't give up until I get a response. He can't work magic but 2 and a half years is a long time to wait after a DRO. You are in good hands from what I hear with Ken. You may get all your problems solved at the VARO. John

You can transfer your TSP money to an IRA along the way. When you take money out of your TSP or IRA you just take out what you need for that year. If you need an extra 500 bucks a month from your TSP just take that amount since you have to pay tax on it, and you probably have to pay quarterly tax. Chances are you will get your OPM first which is taxable. Just remember you don't have to cash it all out at once. John

If you have other insurance I don't think they will pay, regardless.

You say you have an anxiety disorder. PTSD is an anxiety disorder. You could file for it right now on its own merits with your combat ribbon. Read up on it a little bit. If your doctors say that your PN is a symptom of your myeloma then include it. It is not really secondary the way PN is secondary to DMII. Your PN is part of your myeloma as I understand it. John

If you really want something from the VHA you can often get it if you are willing to really fight for it. I was told I could not get Cymbalta. I got it. I have had all kinds of tests done that many VA doctors would not have prescribed for me. It depends how bad you want something. They told me I could not get fentynal patch and I got it. Most VA doctors don't even know which diseases are AO presumptives. I do have a special ax to grind against the VA regarding dental care. I have had a dentist at the VA tell me that there is much evidence that poor dental hygene can lead to cardiac problems. Many, many vets have poor dental care due to expense. For them to pretend that failure to provide dental care for all vets is acceptable gets my goat. Vietnam vets not only face cardiac problems from AO but also from poor dental care. I know that this is due to "cheap bastard" syndrome although it may not be the fault in any way of the dentists and VA health care system, but it is someone's fault. John

I use medicare and my BC/BS to get my CPAP supplies. I can't wait on the VA unless they do a lot better than their drug program or dental program.

USMC Are you going for TDIU? The VA will let you swing slowly in the wind. Maybe you congress critter can help if they really want to help. Mine never did. If you can just hang in there your TDIU claim should be in the bag. Do you see you VA shrink and cry bitter tears over these delays? You want to document the toll this is taking on you. John

Did you see combat in Vietnam and/or do you have any combat badges or medals. If so then you can file a claim for PTSD on its own. If you file a secondary claim the original claim has to be accepted and you have to have a rating decision aleady in place. For instance, on the neuropathy if you had accepted diabetes claim from AO the PN claim would be a natural secondary claim for your DmII. Have you had a very complete physical exam. I discovered by accident that I had a condition secondary to my DMII when I went into the VA to have them look at a bump on my leg. They did a CT scan and found out I had artery disease. That is a well known secondary condition of DMII but the VA never looked for it on its own but only by accident did they discover it. John

Grid You can do as I did when I worked for USPS. I waited until they drove me crazy. Then they had enough on me to fire me for cause. I hired a MSPB lawyer and got a disability retirement instead. I filed for workers compensation. I also filed for SSDI and TDIU. I would not do it that way again even though it worked for me. When I knew I could not do it any more I would put in for the retirement and start the ball rolling on all the other programs as soon as I became eligible. It is very stressful to get fired. I got picked up by workers' compensation within months of being fired because my condition was known to them and I was already on light duty for it. See if you can sign up for one of the group disability programs the feds offer. While you wait you can draw money from your TSP. OPM is easy to get but it is small money. Once you get TDIU or 100% you will be making more take home pay than your buddies who were telling how sorry they were to see you go. John

I think you have a good psychiatric claim secondary to the AO disorder. If you have a presumptive AO disorder and you set foot in Vietnam there is no quesion you will be SC'ed. What would be your rating when you get rated for the cancer from AO? If you are going to be 100% there is no rush about filing the mental health claim. What I would want is a no nonsense letter from a psychiatrist saying that your anxiety and depression are secondary to your AO disease before I filed my claim. John