john999

File now to secure the effective date. The records will get here when they get here. You know it takes them months to get claims done. The records should be in your hands by then.

What Sharon said!

Your civilian doctor cannot say your neck or knee problems "could" be caused by the accident. She/he must say it is "At least as likely as not" caused by your accident. The word "could" is speculation. You need a definite statement of cause. Since it has been more than a year since your discharge you have to prove with medical evidence that your accident caused the new problems.

Do you have fee base? How far do you live from closest VAMC? If you live a long way away you might get fee base coverage. I know the VA won't pay co-pays if you use medicare. How much is it going to cost you to get it done via medicare? They should pay to have someone else do it, but that means they are incompetent and have to admit it. They brag they have World Class Health Care. Not that I believe that.

I know you can't get 100% and TDIU at the same time. You still should file for it as soon as you can because it takes them a long time to adjudicate it. The way the VA is supposed to do if you are 100% and then reduced is to consider TDIU if you can't work.

If you have diabetes you can claim it as a given almost if you have a good IMO or statement from a VA doctor. Some doctor has to say the DMII or other condition causes the ED. The whole world knows that anti-depressants and pain medications can cause ED except the VA.

Do you have medicare? I might shop around before the VA kills me.

If you got the money try and save the tooth. You only get one set in life after childhood. I cracked one once. I had to get a root canal and crown. It costs me but I still have that tooth. The VA may want to pull it. You don't want that if you can afford to save it. If you pull one tooth the opposing tooth starts to grow and can screw up your bite.

You are saying you got injured in a fight and you want to claim SC for the injuries? If the injuries were due to willful misconduct according to the military you would have to appeal that finding I think, but I don't know for sure. The best way to find out is to file a claim for those injuries. See what happens. If the injuries are in your medical records then I would file on them. Did you get an honorable discharge?f Others may have a different opinion. The willful misconduct was the fight. The injuries resulting may still be service connected. I don't think having PTSD will get you off the hook for anything in the military.

After you filed your claim did you get a VCAA letter from the VARO telling you what the issues were and what you needed to do to win your claim? If you did not get a VCAA letter then something is wrong.

Getting service connection is a the hardest part of any claim. I got 10% in 1971. Now I am TDIU with "S". It was a long strange trip.

Did you get a VCAA letter at some point? Do you have proof that you filed the claim? 17 months is a long time to hear nothing. Which VARO are you using? I would sure make an inquiry.

If you find the right doctor an IMO can work wonders. The VA just incorporated my IMO right into the decision because they loved it. The doctor I used had been a VA shrink but retired and went into private practice. If you can find someone like that who knows how to write these reports it makes all the difference. They know the buzz words and format the VA is looking for.

Try and get a government job. You get points for being a disabled vet. Potential employers are not supposed to be able to discriminate because of your disability, but they do it but never admit it. I don't know what the exact law is about disclosing your disability.

You did right.

Pete Find a lawyer and sue for malpractice. Those class action suits are shit for the birds. I am suing the doctor who caused me to have a staff infection. I got a private lawyer. You have to show you suffered an injury.

I don't know how a BS in computer science could hurt you. Do you work for the Feds now?

I used an IMO when I claimed TDIU. That is how I got it.

When a doctor tells you he/she can fix your pain with surgery time to run.

Just be sure you have a statement from a doctor saying you are unable to work solely due to your SC condition. That is the basis of TDIU.

File for TDIU!

Tell them you want a referral to the pain clinic. Just remember that if and when you start to take narcotic pain meds that you will develope a tolerance. You will need more of the drug to deal with the pain and the VA will probably not want to increase your amount of narcotic without a knockdown, dragout fight. The VA will never be reliable when it comes to getting your pain meds to you on time. Get them from a private doctor if you can. Do you have other insurance besides the VA like medicare?

The most popular anti-depressants (SSRI's) are known by all to cause sexual dysfuntion in men and woman. When the VA puts you on some prozac-like drug expect problems. Probably 80% of PTSD vets get put on these meds. This really helps a marriage that may already be on rocky ground. The drug (cymbalta) which is used by many doctors for pain have the same results as do all narcotics.

The sooner the vet files for TDIU that will estabish the date for his claim. That is the date the VA will use if and when he gets TDIU. I filed when I just had 30% and that was the date they used for my effective date when I got it 18 months later.

VA here in Tampa Bay area has had a policy of diverting ambulances to non-VA hospitals. Then they try and refuse payment for treatment.