john999

Red I spoke about Dr. Bash because he knows exactly what the VA is looking for in a medical report to establish a nexus. You can bargain with him about the cost. Maybe if you find a lawyer he will know some doctor who can do the same thing. I would bet that most vets who has PTSD symptoms before it was an official DX were discharged as personality disorders. There was a scandal about it in the last few years where the army was still doing it to soldiers home from Iraq or Afghanistan. The military simply believed they had found a cost free method of getting rid of sick soldiers. I knew soldiers who were frog walked out of the army right from army mental hospitals because the army decided their symptoms (self-medication via drugs and alcohol) were misconduct. Any vet who is claiming AO exposure and is not "boots on the ground" in Vietnam has a fight on their hands. I bet that ten years from now when Iraq and Afghanistan vets start to have mysterious symptoms we will go through the same decade of denials from the military and VA. It may be come chemical or disease that is unknown today, but the government will fight it, and those who claim it will be called frauds. Many will have to get sick and die before presumption for this chemical or disease exposure is admitted.

I think if commanding officers who allow these sexual assaults to happen on their watch were publically hanged by the neck things would work out in a hurry. Seriously, if top brass wanted these things to stop they could stop them. MST has been a problem for decades. This can only happen if there is some sense coming from the top that it is not a serious issue. Racial integration happened in the military long before it happened in civilian society. That is because commands were given and careers were at stake.

The BVA is going into hiding. They will be at an undisclosed location. Ex-Vice President Chenny will be the only person able to communicate directly with the BVA. I have heard through secret sources they will be ten miles underground in gigantic bomb proof complex with the CIA next door. All this because of Nehmer.

Look in your records. You should have a letter that is a VCAA letter. This is a requirement when you file a claim. The VA is supposed to send you a letter that describes the issue you are claiming and tells exactly what evidence you need to get there. If you did not get that letter with both asthma and PTSD on it then something is wrong. Tell us what you have in your records regarding these claims. You need to go to the VARO and make sure that you have claims that are at the rating board for asthma and PTSD. I am not even sure you actually have a claim in for PTSD since you have never had a C&P exam for it. When you made your PTSD claim how did you file the claim? Do you have a date stamped copy of the claim? No C&P for either the increase for asthma or for PTSD. That is very unusual. I am SC'ed for 7 different conditions. I got C&P exams for every one of them. If you are claiming an increase I have never heard of not getting a C&P exam. Something just does not smell right. Your VSO needs to give you some answers.

Call your lawyer. If that fails send him a certified letter and tell him you are going to fire him if he does not communicate with you about your claim. Ask him about the writ. The DAV probably won't want to pick up in the middle of a claim that is in appeals. What is the name of your lawyer?

I have never heard of the VA taking a vet's claim out of the que and placing it at the bottom because they ask for a copy of their C&P exam. I think they told you that you discourage you from calling them any more. How long ago did you get your C&P done?

Any records you are going to use for VA purpose you want it to be about SC conditions only. You don't want to give the VA alternative explanations for a TDIU claim. If you are going to use SSD records then make sure they are for SC conditions. If there is anything in your evidence for IU that is not SC the VA will pounce on that to deny TDIU. If you have enough to get TDIU without SSD and non-service connected issues you don't have to worry. If Rockman has any problems with work point the finger at his military PTSD. If he retires on disability make it for SC conditions.

Right, the doctor should say in clear terms that the claimant cannot work for at least one year. That is key for SSD.

Arm Chair warriors never give up kicking Vietnam vets for losing the war. When the heads of many governments make such dumb decisions about going to war without a clue it is easy to blame the vets who actually fought the war. Bring us the heads of veteran scapegoats. Really amazing how we spent almost ten years in Vietnam and 30 years later we head for Afghanistan for another ten years.

I think your PTSD claim will be approved. Now continue to get treatment. Get the best treatment you can get from people you like. Compensation is great, but you need long term treatment for these problems as well. Do you see a psychiatrist?

Grent You are 100% P&T. The VA tells you that you may be eligible for SMC and retro for the TBI. I don't see what you are upset about. I would let my lawyer take care of these things. I would not write my congressman or do a writ. That is up to your lawyer to take care of these things. The VA got the lost records and acted on potential claims. When you have a problem with your claim you need to talk to your lawyer. If you go around him you are headed for trouble. Put all your questions in writing and ask your lawyer for answers. This is what he gets paid for. Your paranoia is working overtime I think.

One thing you don't want to do is to let the VA make the claim that it is the stress of his job that is the reason he is becoming unemployable. You want to relate everything to his service experience. If he sees inmates as the enemy it is because of military experience. If he has PTSD it is not due to working with inmates but due to military. When a cop files for PTSD the VA may say that his experience as a cop is the true stressor and cause of his current PTSD. The job may aggravate his PTSD but it should all point towards military experince as the principal cause. Rockman should always keep this in mind every time he opens his mouth at the VA. You want a papertrail but you want one that helps you.

I think using residents in the ER is a crime. They are playing with people's lives. I know it is just about money. That statement on the wall at the VA about "taking care of those who have borne the battle" is just hogwash. Of course, you go to a private hospital and the first thing they want to know is what kind of insurance you have. No insurance you better be bleeding to death, or they send you down the road. We don't have a medical system in the USA. We just have a bunch of doctors and hospitals trying to make money.

If you get the proper workup at the ER they can identify what is wrong. What happens is that if they don't think your insurance will pay they don't do the CT scan or MRI. My wife had a pain in her stomach. I thought it was probably the spicy wings she ate and the fact she did have some acid reflux. I took her to the ER anyway because she was really hurting. We have good insurance so they did the tests. It turnd out to be she had a very serious case of diverticulitus and she was in surgery within 4 hours. If they had sent her home with a bottle of malox the thing would have ruptured and the contents of her intestine would have drained into her body cavity and she might have died. Just a few days could have meant life or death. If a gall bladder ruptures the same thing happens. The infection drains into the body cavity and you get peritonitus and you die. Before anti-biotics these sorts of things killed people all the time. The humble appendix was a killer of thousands. We trust our lives to people who might skip a test because someone is trying to save a buck (the VA or an insurance company).

Did you ever get any treatment for these problems in service? Did you serve overseas? There might be some link between where you served and these problems? Anal fissures could lead to an infection as you can imagine. Even if you have to fight to get compensation you need treatment number one priority.

They are taking another shot at killing us.

I don't understand why your C&P exam for PTSD would be cancelled. You say you are waiting on a decision right now? A decision on what? Did you get a VCAA letter from the VA telling you what you needed to win a PTSD claim? You need help with this claim since I don't know what is going on with it. Do you have a VSO like the DAV or VFW? You filed a claim for an increase for asthma and for PTSD. Your social worker does not do your C&P exam. The VA gets a doctor to do the PTSD exam. They send you a letter telling you to show up for the exam at a time and date. You need to find out exactly what is happening with your claim. The VA dropping your C&P exam for PTSD is not good. Get a service officer from DAV or VFW or one of those to look into your claim. Something is not right. Did you have a C&P for asthma?

Go to a Vet Center. They usually have groups going all the time.

If you filed a NOD after you got the 30% you can get a lawyer. How long ago did you get a 30% rating? You had one year to file an NOD. The way it works is you file a claim. The VA may completely deny it or approve it to the maximum possible degree or they may rate it some place in-between. If you disagree with that decision you file a NOD within one year. After you file the NOD you can hire a lawyer. You have to be careful about who you listen to with regards to appeals, ratings etc. That is why I say go run all this by a lawyer who does VA claims. He will know what you can do. He gets paid based on how much you get paid. You sound like you don't really understand the process all that well. You have said you can't get a job because of the meds, but also that you feel like you are caged at work and it drives you to feel trapped and you end up getting fired. That would be the anxiety closing in on you and if that is service connected it would be a reason for asking for TDIU. You are very young and you do have your whole life in front of you. You need treatment and you need support while you get the treatment. The military broke you then they dumped you out on the street to fend for yourself. I know the feeling. Tell us the history of your discharge and how long you have been out and when you filed for disability. The more facts you can give us the more we can help. You don't have to post personal stuff that hits too close to home.

Get the TDIU/100% for anxiety and then worry about validating yourself. The VA is never going to apologize to you. The military will never say they are sorry. Your only validation is money. If you can't work get the money. If you want to go back to school on vocational rehabilitation you could do that. What are your goals and how old are you? This is a factor in what you plan on trying to do since age discrimination is a fact. Have you considered getting a VA lawyer? If you are depending just on the VA for help you are not going to get it.

Grent If you may be eligible for retro that is good. I don't see any downside to what the VA has said. When did you get the brain injury and did you claim it or is the VA inferring it?

So did the VA call a CUE on themselves and change your rating to severe anxiety? If your anxiety is severe you should be getting more than 30%. You don't need a PTSD claim and a severe anxiety claim since they are different types of the same type of disorder. If you cannot work due to your meds and severe anxiety you should claim TDIU. Who is helping you with your claim? If the VA admits that you are actually service connected for anxiety you don't have to prove a MST claim. You just have to prove the severity of your disability not the nexus. Stick around and keep posting. Your claim is confusing and you probably need help sorting this out. It seems the VA is admitting they made a mistake in your service connection. That might be what is called a clear unmistakable error.

I think I could get fee base since I am meet housebound criteria. I have medicare and blue cross. I use it all the time for doctors in my area. I don't even have a copay if they are in my network. I use the VA for drugs mostly. I would like to use Fee Base for dental since VA dental where I am is pretty awful. So is the vision service. I end up paying myself. I just had cataract surgery because VA said I did not qualify. Medicare paid no questions asked but not the VA.

Grent The VA must have found that you met the requirement for 100% schedular. You can't be TDIU and 100% at the same time. This is nothing to worry about I don't think. What does your lawyer have to say about this? What are you 100% for? Are you 100% for TBI? What date do you have for the retro? You have a lawyer and you are being represented by DAV? What is the lawyer representing you for?

Papa I don't see how you have screwed up your PTSD claim. If the VA accepts your obesity as being due to PTSD that opens the door for many secondary claims as I see it. I don't know if the RO will actually accept what their own doctor says, but it sure makes them look like asses if they don't and gives you a good appeal. I would get my own doctor to agree with their doctor. Hire an IMO and let them see what the C&P doctor said. If the VA does accept obesity as being SC I can see that opening the door to all sorts of knee,back,foot and internal medical type claims. You got all those AO claims you can make but obesity adds high blood pressure and a ton of other possible claims.