john999

That damn goat eats mine too. That is a government goat.

If I had a stress test that came back abnormal I would not take the word of "someone in the office" that it is minor. Was this a test done at the VA? You know they bury their mistakes.

I would say this: If you can show that you are housebound due to a SC condition that is proof that you are 100%. It is a chicken and egg situation. A buddy of mine was TDIU. He proved with medical evidence that he was HB. The VA changed his rating to 100% schedular and granted HB. So I would shoot for HB if I am actually housebound due to a SC condition and see what happens. If you don't file for something you will never get it. Even if you get denied at first you get the hints of how to achieve it.

Do you need assistance in the activities of daily living? Can you feed yourself and bath yourself and shop and prepare food?

I think you qualified for SMC "S" based on being housebound. I think you should file a claim for "S" from the time you were awarded 70% given the facts of your case. I think the VA should have inferred HB. You are going to have a fight on your hands, but if you don't file you will never get. I would try and find a lawyer to help me with this because the VA is going to fight this. They are going to bring up the old standard of having to be 100% schedular. They will say Bradley V Peake does not apply. I don't think this is a slam/dunk.

You need to request a copy of your C-File in writing. If you just want to look at it you have to make an appointment.

Keep fighting TestVet for that EED. Effective dates is the last chance the VA has to really screw a vet and they use that chance. It is all a disgrace the way they treat us. When you go back years and years for an EED or CUE they really get dumb and nasty.

You know the VA does not do research on effects of AO. They depend on others to do the research. Who cares about AO nowdays? IOM puts research studies together, but who actually pays? The reason no connection has been found for many cancers and AO is because nobody is looking. As far as the nation is concerned Vietnam vets died 40 years ago. In a world of tight budgets who cares about aging RVN vets?

How can a 20 year old get SSD if they don't have enough quarters worked? Are we talking about SSI? Do the parents win SSD for their child? I don't know how that works? Is this all related to an AO birth defect claim? Does the VA pay for all spina bifida expense?

I think California, Texas, Florida and New York have the most vets. More vets means a bigger backlog I think.

You see all the RO's are inconsistent. One vet gets a fast and good decision and another waits years for a denial. Who knows why? The VA has one massive interest and that is to save money. If it is at the expense of the vet too bad. It is much easier today to get rated than 20-30 years ago in my experience. The public has a very sympathetic attitude towards vets. It was not always that way.

Phil I think you should file for "S". I bet you could squeeze another AO secondary condition out of your disabilites. I am acutally way over TDIU plus 60% since I have one 60% and five 10% ratings over and above TDIU. You might even try to get "S" for acutally being housebound. Did the VA consider you for HB when they granted you 100% schedular for PTSD?

Tbird That is an amazing story. I think eventually AO will be the cause of death of every living Vietnam vet. As long as the VA can spin it out they save money by not making connections between AO and all sorts of cancers.

Berta If I had gotten a slightly higher rating after I got TDIU I don't think I would have gotten "S". I was rated at 90%. If I had hit the 100% level I would have not gotten S because my 100% would have been a combination. My 90% is a combination. I had TDIU plus one disability rated 60%, so I fit the profile exactly. I think I just got lucky. The whole issue is murky.

If I were you I would wait for my rating to see what your effective date will be. Then I would take what Berta has posted and use this as the basis for an earlier effective date. If I did not get the earliest date I would take my case to a VA lawyer. I say this because I think the VA will fight giving you the earlier date and it will get complicated legal questions will arise. The main thing now is to get the highest rating possible for the PTSD. Then go back and attack your effective date if the VA does not grant it back to 1996. The evidence to grant PTSD was in existence in 1996, but the VA did not have it, so they say. Since this involves a lot of retro and gets into legal questions I think this is the kind of claim that is made for a lawyer to do since I bet you will be in appeals for a while. Better to sit down with a paid legal expert and get the pros and cons of this case ironed out before you launch a hunt for EED that could take years. I think Berta has nailed the issues, but you need help taking it forward. If I were in your shoes that is what I would do.

If you could find some evidence they ignored in the original decision that would have justified 80% then you might have something. I would go over the evidence the VA used in their rating very carefully to see if they left anything out of the rating decision.

I would say that unless the VA has evidence you are alcoholic or use illegal drugs never tell them you use or have ever used. If you tell them you have some beers on the weekend it can mutate into "vet drinks every weekend to excess and often falls down". I know that drinking and drug use are symptoms of PTSD, but once established never admit to drinking or taking drugs again. Many of these doctors believe that vets are drunks and drug abusers. You have to prove otherwise. Everytime you give blood or urine you are being tested for drugs and alcohol.

You do need a statement from a doctor who will say that you are unemployable due solely to your SC conditions. If you have that and with 80% I think you will get your IU. Go for it because as these wars wind down I think it will get harder. That is just my opinion. Now is the best time possible to get the highest rating. The public is very sympathetic to vets now. Ten years from now they may think we are all free loaders or war criminals. You never can tell.

I bet you are right, Chuck.

I think I would wait to get a copy of the exam to see what see said. You know these doctors get paid per exam, so the more they do they more they make. 4 minutes is pretty damn short and it is obvious she did not do an exam unless she asked you about the nature of your headaches? When I went for my diabetes exam the doctor just looked at my labs and said "you got it all right". Then I went for a neurologist who tested my nerves in hands and feet by pricking my feet and hands. This took 5 minutes. I got service connected for both conditions.

I think it is the Nehmer claims.

How could any VARO be worse than St. Pete? I don't think it is possible. If you think about it you will go insane. I know Carlie got paid recently and she used St. Pete, so there is hope even from the edge of a black hole.

TestVet I worked for the post office too. If that won't give you the blues nothing will. When I first got hurt at work that was the beginning of the end. I realized I would never be able to earn an honest living, so I had to start thinking.

A lot of people here question that exposure therapy. The VA can't make you do anything you don't want to do.

As long as we are in a state of permanent war they will be a backlog of claims. Consider that the military has been at war for the last ten years. The people of the USA have not been at war, but the military has been at war for ten years using up the same people with Stop/Loss and back to back combat tours. I think about half of claims now are for mental injuries. These claims are complicated and tend to be long term.