john999

Take the compensation because the day you can't work you will be really grateful you have that money coming every month. It is all that keeps most of us afloat.

If your PTSD is chronic and severe I do think you have a chance at IU or 100%. If you add that in with your other problems and you can't work then I do think you have a good shot. I don't see how you are going to be able to work with your back trouble anyway. Between the pain and the PTSD those things feed off each other. Keep posting and we can walk you through this thing. I am not that up on the MEB stuff but others are up on it.

I would sure get second opinions about the surgeries even if you change you mind about getting them. I think you will get IU or 100% eventually. The waiting game is the VA's slow torture.

You should apply for SSDI as well while you are at it.

File it as a CUE and see what happens. I was at 70% IU and was granted another 60% which brought me to 90% so I got S. The way I see it if you are 100% you have to get another 60%. The thing is if you are actually housebound you can get it on the merits. You might try for that instead of chasing the total plus 60%. I think the VA will quibble over your rating. I think I fit the profile just right which made it easy for me.

If your PTSD claim has been open and the BVA granted the claim they should back date your disability rating to the date you filed for it. The VA will only grant disability for one mental health condition unless one is organic like TBI.

Why not get a second opinion?

I don't think a deserter from a war zone should get benefits. That is a slap in the face of every guy who did his tour. There was a reason that unmarried guys were not allowed to go home to the USA on R&R. The military was pretty sure they would never come back. Perhaps he can get benefits somehow though a legal loophole, but I would not help him do that.

Get a lawyer if you don't have one already. For most people that is part of getting SSDI.

If you have two good letters you might just wait until you get a decision before getting more IMO's. If for some reason you don't get everything you want you can get the new IMO's to rebutt the VA's decision line by line. That is what I did over the period of a rating and two appeals. The VA is great at giving a partial grant of your disabilites. That is when getting new evidence really helps. The hard part is waiting.

Have you applied for social security disability for the SC conditions? That would be a good thing to do. Based on your PTSD and feet problems you should get IU. I think some lazy SOB at the VA just stamped your claimed denied because they did not want to deal with 18 items. It is not your fault.

Your VSO is an idiot. The VA does consider SSDI when they consider TDIU claims. If you are on SSDI solely for the same issues as you are claiming TDIU that is very strong evidence for TDIU. The VA won't grant TDIU just because a vet has SSDI, but it is proof that you can't work. I would take a copy of the award letter and submit it to the VA myself. Just keep posting here and submit your evidence yourself to the VA. You don't need your VSO to submit evidence. When I get my decision I would fire this VSO and try and learn how to do claims myself. How did the VA find out you were on SSDI? Your VSO has cost you money by not filing TDIU for you.

You are only going to get one rating for all your psychological disorders. They combine all the issues and grant a rating for the worst condition. If you want to appeal the BVA decision you have to go to the court of veteran appeals. If you can't work solely due to SC conditions then you should be able to get TDIU. Did you get SSDI solely for SC conditions? The next time you want to appeal a VARO decision ask for a DRO Hearing before you go to the BVA.

Are you trying for 100% or TDIU? If so you should focus on the claims that will get you there. Are you working? If not you should file for TDIU now. I think having 18 pending issues makes your claim hard to deal with just due to complexity. Maybe you should hire a lawyer to do your appeal. You need help sorting this thing out to your immediate benefit.

You should think first about staying in an area where you have a support system in place. You take your troubles with you where ever you go. There is no happy place out in the country where all problems vanish. If you get out of range of services it could really cost you. A person who has attempted suicide needs to be very near help and not out in the boonies.

You should be getting bilateral factor for all four limbs. It isn't much really, but it may bump you a little. I have the same thing. You have sensory PN?

This is the kind of therapy they do for phobic conditions. If they did it for PTSD it would need to be done by very skilled therapists. That rules out the VA. Being afraid of elevators is different from searing experience of combat. I was watching some show on c-span with some WWII vets talking about war experiences. They were as vivid today as they were 60 years ago. These images are burned into the brain. Governments are concerned about vets with PTSD, but underneath is the cost factor. That really concerns them.

What I found out is that if an issue you are claiming is not in the VCAA letter then something is wrong. The VCAA letter should address all your issues.

I will give people advice, but I will not do the work for them. For that they should hire a lawyer.

That's right because the VA used to say that if you were DX'ed with a heart problem and then six months later that you had AO DMII then your heart could not possibly be secondary to the DMII. You know this was just BS. I am sure the VA is not advertising the fact some may be entitled to SMC. You have to drag it out of them.

For AO PN you have to be DX'ed within one year of exposure and the symtoms must resolve within two years of exposure. How can anyone possibly be SC'ed for this? If the symptoms resolve what would be your rating anyway.....O%? I can see PN due to some kind of spinal problem or DMII. PN was one of the first and most flawed presumptives for AO.

The VA in the late 60's and 70's was a hell hole. You could not even get treatment unless you were a drunk or service connected for a certain issue. The decisions that came out of the VA in those days should make the government blush. I am sure if you persist with your claims you will win. You just have to out live them.

I agree with you Allan. I would respond to the VCAA letter.

What if you follow VA doctor's orders and take pain meds as directed and end up as drug addict? If the VA keeps you on a steady dose of narcotics for 6 years what do they expect is going to happen?. They always blame the vet. You know the VA addicts many thousands of vets. Then they start blaming the vet for being a "drug seeker".

Bronco File it. You have nothing to lose. Whether it is a CUE or not you will probably get an answer in a hurry. I got my CUE in about 5 weeks on the IU plus 60% "S". That is speed of light for St. Petersburg VARO.