john999

When I filed for "S" the VA contacted my appeals lawyer. I think once you have a lawyer the VA is going to contact that person regarding anything you file. My issues were completely unrelated but the VA informed the lawyer anyway. I don't think you want split representation in my opinion. It will get confused. My VARO was very unused to dealing with a lawyer. It was good to see them squirm.

If you consider almost all surviving RVN vets will probably die from an AO disease. When they made DMII,lung cancer, prostate cancer and IHD as presumptive they pretty much covered the bases.

Chuck All the things you mention are put on the back of the disabled vet or spouse to resolve. Unless the vet has been reading Hadit for 5 years he/she will not know when he/she is being screwed by the VA. Then the vet has to file some kind of claim or appeal otherwise errors are never recognized by the VA.

Allan I am on the Wheel right now. The my claim went to the Court. The Court found an error because the BVA used the wrong rating schedule to deny my appeal. Now it is on remand back to the BVA which will most probably again deny the appeal using the right rating schedule. How long will I be on the wheel. Nobody knows. If I were you I sure as heck would hire a lawyer. Even with a lawyer you enter on dangerous ground when you hit the BVA and beyond.

The key word would be "plausable". The BVA would just have to produce a plausable reason for its decision. Many, many things are plausable. I have a decision back from the 70's that has no "reasons and basis". They just cherry picked the evidence. I think the VA wants to cut its budget, but it is politically unacceptable to just cut benefits, so they go behind the public's back to make it more difficult to win a claim. If these sorts of rules are passed then the lawyers will again back away from representing vets. Retired generals like Shinseki make plenty of money. Disabled PFC's or SGT's make very small money on disability. However, since their are thousands of enlisted from current endless wars applying for benefits this is making our dear VA and congress uncomfortable.

I do think the VA is trying to limit the number of claims for PTSD. The word has come down that unless a vet meets all the criteria he/she does not have PTSD. Nobody meets all the criteria. Leaving the VA in charge of DXing PTSD is like putting the fox in the henhouse. The are going to stall as long as they can because they save money. Even if you win on appeal they have been able to hold onto your compensation for a couple of extra years.

The thing is that if he is not in treatment and taking meds the VA concludes he is doing: 1. Better 2. Much better 3. Should be reduced.

If the laws or regulations apply to you and your claim I think the only way to really clarify them is to appeal and fight your claim all the way through the courts. A bunch of BVA and COVC judges get paid to interpret all the rules and regulations as they are applied to vet claims. What you read in the regs and how they are actually applied is two ends of eternity.

Captain Isn't it a disgrace than any vet has a co-pay for pills? The VA means tests veterans which to me makes it a welfare program. If you are an average middle class veteran you will be turned away or have to pay a co-pay. I am 100% and I still get billed for things to my insurance. I resent that so much I use the VA as little as possible except to document disabilites. That is good information about Costco.

Bronco I really think the VA wants imput from women vets because the care has been so bad for so long they want to find out what they can do to fix public relations nightmare. Don't worry! They don't care about your wife any more than they care about you. Really, it is a not a plot against males except in the sense that the bottom line means more than health care to the VA.

Broncovet I think you stepped in it. I think VA care for women has been awful over the decades. The VA has a lot to answer for. My wife gets champva. She was told there were very few female doctors available to her at my VAMC. They discouraged her from using the VA.

Stilt Your reasoning is a little like saying "If this store does not want to serve me because I am black, or a veteran then I will just go some place else". This was the way it was in Jim Crow south for 100 years. I do understand some HOA rules. For instance, retirement communites may not want an elementary school built in their neighboorhood. To discriminate against a disabled vet by a HOA is disgraceful to me. This is a guy who risked his life while others shopped at the mall. .05% of the population is doing the dying and fighting for 99.5% of the public. When we were soldiers at least there was a draft, so many could have the honor of dying for their country. This was an honor most did not want in any way as you remember.

Chuck75 Nothing succeeds like personal experience. It is good to know that you can file for both since it will help this vet survive.

Mike You should get SMC "S" automatically if you have two 100% conditions. If you have not gotten it then appeal and quote Bradley V Peake as your authority for S. I think I would send them a letter and just remind the VA that S for you is a statutory benefit. It is like getting paid for dependents. You just get it if you are qualified and you are qualified.

You know the head of the VA pain clinic swore that cymbalta would cure my chronic pain disorder, but the VA did not prescribe it due to cost. I don't believe that, but it might help. I think it is a combination of Welbutrin and Prozac under a fancy name. Like I say I got it through an old workers compensation claim that is still active. They paid for it all.

I think the word has gone out not to DX PTSD. You can still get SC'ed for the anxiety and depression which is what PTSD often is anyway. PTSD is another type of anxiety disorder. GAD, Panic disorder, phobias and dissociative disorder are all reactions to stress and have anxiety as a symptom.

Cooter That's OK. I have tried many anti-depressants. I think cymbalta has same problems the other SSRI's have....dead shrimp blues. The great medical scientists invent drugs that cure your depression and make you impotent at the same time. Isn't that great? I wanted to try it for pain and see if it has anything. I usually do well on SSRI's but it does not make me less depressed. I just stop worrying about it.

Since you filed within one year I think you just need evidence that you have PN which is secondary condition of DMII. You do need evidence that your PN is secondary to you DMII. All that means is that a doctor has to say it. I have those conditions but due to AO. If your DMII is SC'ed you don't have to prove your PN was evident on active duty. Have you looked up DMII secondary conditions? There are many including PN, PAD, heart disease etc.

I bet if you are having numbness down your leg you have a herniated disc even if it is not really bad. When did you get a MRI the last time. When it starts to run down the leg it means the pulp of the disc is impinging on the nerve in a serious way. I am no doctor. I have DDD in neck and back so I am telling you what I know. I have herniation in my neck and I get the pain running across the shoulders and numbness. That is a clue you probably have some of your disc touching the nerves that run down your leg through the backbone. I am sure you know all this already. Has anyone recommended surgery? When VA says DDD they may be implying that it is just due to normal aging. I am really glad you filed your claim soon after discharge because if you wait the VA has a way of saying it is just due to age.

Get a real doctor to write a report for you. Was you C&P doctor even an orthopedist? See, the VA will use an eye doctor with an MD to write reports for bad knees if they work cheap. You can't diagnose yourself because the VA is just going to ignore this. You need real medical evidence to support anything you are claiming.

Bergie What do you know about Cymbalta? I got it prescribed to me via workers compensation for chronic pain and depression. The VA pain clinic thinks it is great but too expensive.

File for SSDI because it is more money than you get at 62 for regular retirement. I would hold off on the regular SSA until I got SSDI. You don't want to confuses this issue too much since the people doing SSA can get things mixed up just like VA. Also you will be able to get medicare in two years after SSDI award. If you get regular SSA you have to wait until 65 to get medicare. Medicare benefit is really a big deal for people who want an option besides depending on the VA.

The house I grew up in had restrictive covenant in the deed. "This house cannot be sold to anyone of African decent". Now that I am a home owner, and hate all my neighbors I wish there was a covenant excluding all the people I don't like. You know there are low life real estate people who prey upon people with unpaid HOA fees. Someone owes 500 bucks for some fee and they get kicked out of their house and it gets sold to some preditor who then resells it for 100,000 a month later. This is why I live in old part of town where anything goes including loud SOB's and obnoxious people, including myself, who file code violations when pigs don't clean their yards full of junk. I believe in rules and regulations for other people.

You filed for IU on a certain date. When did the VA actually know your husband was not able to work due solely to his SC conditions? The VA is going to use the date you filed for IU, but you might appeal if you have evidence that they knew he was not able to work. The VA always uses 4.16a which says you must be a certain % plus unemployable. 4.16b say a vet is eligible for IU when he becomes unable to work regardless of percentage. The VA never uses that part of it, but you can. You will have to fight, of course. You are used to that already. For instance, if he was on SSD for GW illnesses and the VA knew that then you have a shot at a EED. This is an example the VBM uses. The VA is going to give the latest date possible for IU. That is the way they play the game. However, I filed when I was 30% and they had to accept that date on appeal.

Carlie What is the drill when CAVC remands a claim back to the BVA to correct errors the BVA made in the decision denial? CAVC said on their website the case was remanded, but I have no idea how to track it or time frames. My lawyer does not want me taking to the BVA except through him. When I talked to the lawyer he said it was remanded and that was it. I have no tracking number unless it is the old case number before it went to the CAVC. If I go to the BVA site there is no record of the claim at all. I know I am going to just have to wait. BVA made a dumb mistake by using the wrong rating schedule in their denial. Now it goes back to them so they can deny it again (CUE)with the right schedule. I am getting older! The remand is supposed to be expedited so does that mean two years instead of five? I am going to end up like everyone else waiting ten years on a claim. No wonder lawyers are not that anxious to take difficult cases. My case is not difficult but the VA just does not want to pay 30 years of retro.