john999

Well, the BCMR is not that friendly to OTH discharges after almost 40 years. The burden will be on you to show that an injustice has been done. All your ordinary time limits have run out, so I wonder if you could get pro bono help from some lawyer group to help you with this? The BCMR will raise the 15 year time limit to file an appeal for discharge change. This is their firt defense against changing a discharge. I recently asked BCMR for change of character of discharge from honorable to medical and they raised the 15 year time deadline and dismissed my appeal.

If you had schizophrenia in service or within one year of discharge you could get a presumption of service connection. If you have the illness ten years after discharge and there is nothing in your SMR's about some mental illnes then you have a problem.

Your doctor needs to say that the PAD is secondary to the IHD. When you ask for a secondary condition to be SC'ed you need a good statement from a doctor to connect all the dots and explain the linkage. Even when it is obvious you still need an explicite statement to make the connection.

HVY I would ask for a DRO Hearing not just a review.

Have you had epidural injections for facet joint pain. They say if you have the injections and your pain goes away that is diagnositic for facet joint syndrome. I had many injections. It did me no good, but works wonders for others. Does it hurt when you sit for a long time? Is your back very stiff in the morning?

I would file on what I can prove is service connected. Do you have DX of depression and anxiety in-service?

Now if the VA deposits $16,000 dollars in your account you can start to consider the source. If the VA sent me such a check I would deposit it in a savings account and wait for them to ask for it.

I think it is tied to the COLA for vet benefits so no increase.

I would sure try the epidurals before surgery unless your legs are going numb. There are so many failed back surgeries that there is a DX called "Failed Back Surgery Syndrome". I have had three surgeries on my shoulder, wrist and foot and all failed and I am worse off now. These things are money makers for doctors where just pills and exercise make them no dough.

If you submit material evidence in a claim and the VA neither lists it or discusses it you may have the basis of a CUE if the evidence that is excluded would have had a significant affect on the outcome of the rating decision. This is where it gets tricky. "Reasonable mind" (meaning the VA) have to come to the conclusion that your excluded evidence was really essential to the rating decision one way or the other. I, myself, am in this boat right now with my CUE. In your case I would wait until I get the decision and appeal it on the basis that they did not consider your evidence. Cue's have to be on final and unappealed decisions.

I kept the FEHB I got from being a retired federal employee. It is BC/BS. I have medicare which is primary for me. My wife has ChampVA which is secondary. We don't pay anything for medical care if we stay in the BC/BS network which is vast. The thing you want to be sure you are covered for is a chronic illness that requires constant treatment. You also need the coverage for a really major illness That runs in the the tens of thousands of dollars. I tell you that when my wife was in the hospital for her diverticulitus she got the best of care. She went to the hospital with pain in her stomache region. She got all the tests right away and she was in surgery within hours. This is because the hospital knew they would be paid. When I got my foot operated on I was admitted in the morning and operated on within hours by a plastic surgeron. If the hosptial believes there is any chance they won't get paid they will shrug you off and this can be fatal. Look at the VA sending people home with severe infections because they are pinching pennies. When my wife gets medicare I will drop the BC/BS family plan which is expensive.

Bandido Did you get chapter 35 benefits when you got IU back in 2008? That would mean you are P&T. If not do as Pete992 has said and just submit evidence to the VA that your disability is static. This should be evidence from a doctor.

TestVet I have the same problem with access to the VAMC. It takes an hour to get to the hospital for some PT and then another hour to get back home. This is why I asked them to come to my house to do this PT. The VA won't let me use fee base to go to a PT clinic close to my house, but they will pay someone to come to my house and do it. That seems dumb. The only reason I got this is because of "S". The technicalities of VA law are much more important than the heath of the vet.

I would be getting another doctor. $1500 over and above his actual fees? No way!

If you apply for ILP don't discuss doing things to make money if you are trying to get 100% disability from the VA. Keep a very low profile about any little business you might do to make a few bucks. I am talking little and unadvertised business. If the VA thinks you are trying to hoodwink them they will call you in for an unfriendly C&P exam.

If he was IU for the last ten years you can get DIC without showing a SC cause of death.

The reason I have not used a gym is because of my foot. I also don't have an indoor pool around here I can use. I am not going to go into the pool when it is 50 degrees. The home visit from the PT guy was ok but he wants to come when it is good for him. I have to get him to come ever other day and not when it suits him. I know the PT is all about making money for these outfits. Today my back is really hurting so I need a day of rest. If my foot heals up and I can stand I will go to a gym or get PT outside the home. The trouble I see with PT is that you get so little of it. I need it for the rest of my life as I see it.

TestVet It sounds like the VA just wanted to make your life miserable. A GAF of 30 and a rating of 50% is in the Outer Limits. When the raters want to screw you they just ignore the evidence. These exams and actual ratings hardly ever make rational sense even when they go your way.

The VA PT guy came to my house today and did an exercise routine on me with stretching and other stuff. Since I can't walk or stand much with my foot the way it is this is a benefit. The thing is that if the therapy is going to do me lasting good I probably need it for the rest of my life. That is probably not going to happen on the VA's dime. I guess I will be sore and my back hurts now. I believe in PT so maybe this will help. I am not totally sure how PT helps DDD but I will give it a shot. I sure would try and get this type of help if I was a housebound vet with any physical problems. It is available under fee base.

That is one hell of an exam. I see the VA has a check list for PTSD symptoms. There is no such check list for any other type of mental health condition like that. The exam is in your favor. However, I see this type of exam as a real barrier to most PTSD claims. It seems you have all the symptoms of PTSD, but I think you were fortunate that your exam doctor seemed to like you and want to service connect you. I also see a 70% rating at least. If you are not working you should ask for IU.

SSDI is usually a hell of a lot faster than VA about making decisions. After you have SSDI for two years you can get medicare.

He may have been living with PTSD for 60 years. Do you have a copy of his military records?

You don't need to be treated by VA doctor for your back, but it helps to show up and ,and at least pretend that you are listening to the VA. I would not let the VA do a back fusion on me if I had other options and that's for sure. Every time you go to the VA you help to build up your file of documentation of your disability. It is kind of hard for the VA to kick you to the curb if you have been a compliant patient for 20 years. Use the VA for the things they can provide and use your private doctor for other things.

58,000 killed in Vietnam, but how many of us will die from AO? Almost 3 million were boot on the ground and every one was exposed to AO. Unless I get hit by a beer truck AO will get me one day.

I have the high arch problem and I think the military doing surgery for this problem is awful. I have seen pictures of people with deformed arch that get the surgery, but it is major surgery. They have to break bones and do major damage to make an almost new foot. I had a very minor foot surgery and I am suffering 8 months later. Did the military do the cutting of the PF. When they do that kind of thing it can alter the way you walk in all sorts of ways. I believe my foot problems have led to my lower back problem because I can't get around and spend my time in a chair.