john999

A fusion of your back joints is a big deal surgery. I think they harvest bone from your hip to help with the fusion. My doctor talked about it, but I said "NO".

There really is no time line. Some get fast decisions and some it takes years. I don't know why and I don't think anyone else knows either.

Saddletramp Were you evaluated for TBI? When you got hit on the head that might have been TBI. I think what you have told us is that you had all sorts of problems due to combat experience. The VA will not grant 30% back to your discharge on their own without some work based on what Berta has said. Are you asking via appeal for an earlier effective date for your PTSD? Are you being treated for PTSD or TBI at the VA now? Do you have any problems from the blow to your head now?

I think the only way to get the retro back to 1969 is to file a CUE claim. I think if you decide to do that you should get a lawyer. Did you file a claim with the VA when you were discharged? If you did not file a claim you are probably screwed. I think I would take all my medical and personnel records to a lawyer and see what can be done. You probably had TBI and PTSD. The army in those days would find any excuse to get rid of emotionally ill vets via the PD route. It happened to me. The army screwed you and if the VA upheld the Army's DX and refused to service connect you then they also screwed you. The time factor is the problem. You are a poster child for what is wrong with military and VA compensation. We need lots more details about when you first applied for compensation with the VA. Was you discharge ever upgraded to honorable? You might even want to try and challange your discharge since it should have been a medical. This is a difficult process since 40 years have gone by. I have been there also. I could be wrong about the CUE claim, so others will chime in on this.

I got a 10% rating for Chronic, schizophrenia in 1973. The VA excluded my doctor's report from the rating which said I was unemployable and incapacitated. So far, I have lost my CUE at the VARO and the BVA. Orignially, I was kicked out as a PD even though I was in the hospital. Is that fair? The BVA told me that just because a decision is grossly unfair it is not a CUE. I was outprocessed while still under treatment and dumped on the street outside an Army base. It that fair? I am still fighting, but it seems fairness has nothing to do with it. Legal technicalites have everything to do with a CUE.

If you can show that you have been getting continuous treatment for conditions noted on your ETS physical then I think you are good to go on being able to service connect them. You have to have a medical statement saying that the condition you suffer from now is related to the condition noted on ETS. Those are the three legs of a disability claim with the VA. You had it in service. You have it now and it is related to your service.

What does your lawyer say about this idiotic reason for denying your SSD? It sounds to me as if the judge is just stalling.

60% may be enough for TDIU I believe if you have more than one condition.

Yes, if they noted conditions on your ETS physical then it could be SC'ed, especially if you have had treatment since.

That is your present from the VA! There seem to be a lot of Christmas presents this year.

Think of all the jobs that SSD supplies for lawyers, judges, clerks and all the other people who get to dip their beaks into the money stream. I think it is a racket, but you have to play the game. The lawyers know exactly what the score is on these things. If you persist you will win eventually.

ChampVA coordinates well with other insurance and with medicare. I think they are always the secondary payer if you have other insurance. I have BC/BS that covers my wife and ChampVA picks up the rest.

Maybe you should try and get a VA lawyer to do his claim. If the lawyer won't take it you know what you are up against.

I would believe it when I get it in black and white! I do hope you get it before the new year.

No, it does not mean HBP cannot cause heart disease. They are taking about PAD and stroke and ruling them out as far as the IHD claims. You can be connected for heart disease secondary to HBP or DMII. Now you can also be connected for IHD due solely to AO exposure. If you have a DX of IHD via the VA I think you will get your SC. You are getting yourself worried. I know the feeling, but I think you will be OK. Waiting is nerve wracking. Do you have PTSD by any chance? I got connected for heart via a SC for DMII due to AO.

I think the call is just what it seems to be which is letting you know they are ready to rate you. I believe it is going to get rated soon since it is a priority. I think it is good news, but I have no idea what your rating will be in the end. Anyone who says they know when the VA will actually rate you is just guessing. You are in the last stages, but who knows how many are ahead of you? The fact the VA called you means that it is moving along and is important to the VA. They don't usually call vets about their claims. You just get an evelope in the mail one day. This is my opinion for what it is worth.

Has your lawyer sent you to one of his doctors to get more evidence? Most SSD lawyers know doctors who know how to write good reports for the SSD judge. I really don't think congress critters will help at all. It might even slow it down as they pause to respond to you. The congressman will make an inquiry and the SSD will send back some BS and your congressman will accept it. That's it! What does your lawyer say to do?

You know with the budget deficits it will probably get worse. The military is one of the worst deadbeats when it comes to taking care of their own. They want to push this onto the VA that cannot walk and chew gum at the same time. The DOD would rather just discharge soldiers with complicated medical problems and then let someone else pick up the tab. I can't get access to my VAMC without a struggle. How is someone with TBI going to do it? This is rationing of care.

Do you have a lawyer? That would be more helpful than calling congress.

I doubt it but you can try. The VA is organic. Things just happen when they happen. You try and pin them down you will be frustrated. They cut checks and rate claims when they get to it.

You know I was told that my VARO gets 10,000 pieces of mail every day. All that has to get sorted and sent to the right people. There must be piles of certified mail and every other kind of mail you can think of because there are not 10,000 employees at the VARO. Is it any wonder things just sit and gather dust. It is amazing that anything gets done. Oh, that reminds me to send them a copy of my employment questionaire since they never send me one anymore.

You can get paid for both. Just file the TDIU form and put down the last day you worked.

That is really hell to have to have a heart attack to get SC'ed for AO. That is a high price.

Spent I was a postal worker. I took disability retirement under FERS. I assume you have your 30 years in CSRS. Other vets here have done what you are going to do. I actually waited until the USPS fired me. Then I applied for disability retirement. Just get all your ducks in a row. I wanted to continue to work as well, but it was not to be. I actually filed for workers compensation after the USPS fired me and I got it. I stayed on WC until I got TDIU.

Does your job have a "disability retirement" option? When you retire you want to try and get it established that you are retiring due to disability and not to any other reason. Are you prepared to wait without a paycheck until you get your TDIU? It could take a while. Who do you work for now?