john999

I never got a separation physical. I was too sick. They just threw me out. It was easier and faster. I love the army.

See the shrink. Can you get pain meds from the outside. The VA pain clinics are pretty awful. Do you have any medical insurance? Try to get on SSD and medicare. The VA has a formulary that is out of the 19th century when it comes to pain. I am surprised they have not put you on that awful long acting morphine or methadone. You will need TNT to get your colon to move.

Carlie I was expecting it. Otherwise the VA owes me about a million dollars. No VA lawyer is going to sign off on that baby. Really, the standard in my claim cannot be met. I won two out of three of the prongs of the CUE, but the third cannot be met given the standards the VA quoted. In the words of George Bush the Elder "This will not stand".

My CUE at the BVA was denied. The BVA admitted that the VA excluded my doctor's evidence in my 1973 decision. However, they said that even if they had not excluded the evidence of "Chronic Schizophrenia" that I would still only be ratable at 10%. The BVA said that a statement from a VA doctor on the locked psychiatric ward that I got on well with the other mental patients was all they needed to deny that I was low balled on my rating. My doctor said I could not work or function in society. This is what reasonable minds conclude that life on a locked ward is the same as life on the outside. It is more complicated but that is the basic idea. My lawyer is taking it to CAVA. The VA said also that no matter how unfair a decision is that does not make a CUE. If they never gave you appeal rights that is also not a CUE.

Well, you have a co-morbid condition of MMD and a GAF of 50. All things being equal that should get you 70%. Are you working? Your ability to work is a big factor in your rating for any mental health disorder.

They like to do this with DMII. You go for the exam with high glucose levels. You come out with DMII DX and that is your effective date. Your PCP never stated in your records that you had DMII all those years when you had high glucose. I think they must warn the doctors not to make the DX.

I don't think they tape anything. If they did they could not change it later to contradict themselves. I have been to many exams where when I get the copy I can't believe me and the exam doctor were in the same room.

Mone is God at the VA. Money first, then staff, then patients. This is what cost driven medical looks like. They already ration care.

Bob Are you going for routine appointment? I get mad when I had to go for prescriptions. It usually means a trip to the lab and then a long wait at pharmacy. They give me just the bare amount of pain pills to get me to the date of my next visit. I am already going to run out of meds before my next visit because they did not calculate correctly. Last time I went the pharmacy would not honor the doctor's prescription.

You can get 100% for a mood disorder just as easy as PTSD if it is service connected.

For secondary problems you usually have to have medical documentation that makes the connection between the primary and secondary condition. As TestVet said about DMII if you have a heart condition as well you have to have medical documentation to say that the DMII caused the heart condition in so many words. Only for presumptive conditions is this not the case.

I think you need to list every problem you have in detail along with medical documentation that DX'ed these problems and relates them either directly or secondarily to your military service. Maybe the VA will lump them together, but you want that VCAA letter you get to list each and every disability. If you have trouble with your knee and hip and foot you need to list each problem and claim them all. The VA is only going to consider what you claim.

The date he filed for IU.

You want to claim each and every disability you have. If you wait for the VA to do it you will die waiting.

Don't let the one year deadline pass because that rule is written in stone. What about your health insurance? It takes about 3-4 months for the OPM to go through. It is perfect proof of your last day at work and that you retired due to disability. It is very easy to apply.

VAF You know they never do that. If they did that then all the vets on SSD who the VA rates 30% should be inferred as having a claim for IU. They just refuse to do it. As soon as the Voc Rehab says a vet can't be rehabilitated they should be inferred as IU. They don't do that either. I agree 100% with your post.

Did you have a letter from a doctor saying he could not work solely due to his SC conditions? That is what you need for IU, but voc rehab turning him down should be enough. Why was he denied IU?

He should apply for disability retirement from the federal agency. To resign is to give away an immediate pension. His VA doctor "argeed" for him to resign from his job. Did they agree to pay your bills? Has he applied for SSD? Let me tell you that no one at the VA is looking out for you and your husband. You all need to look out for yourselves. If he has 70% and can't work he does not need to be in any PTSD program to get a rating. If it has not been one year since he resigned he should get in his application for disability retirement. Your dear VA doctors may have screwed him out of both SSD and OPM retirement. Resigning is a voluntary quiting of work due to whatever. This was unwise if he was a federal employee. I was a federal employee. Who advised him to resign? That was just crazy when he could have applied for disability retirement and SSD at the same time. I am not jumping on you, but that was very bad advise your husband took to resign.

Age is not supposed to matter in SSD claims but it matters a heck of a lot. Not many 25 year olds get SSD unless they are almost bed ridden. I got it when I was 52. My doctor said "this man is a basket case". That helped, but hurt my ego.

Hulumat When are you going to find out if the VA decides you are eligible for VA benefits?

Oh, great, more delays. I think my lawyer did say that if we did not win at bva he would get together with another lawyer who does vet court cases and go from there. This is what I expect. Nothing has ever been easy for me with the VA. Why do they even bother having personal hearings in front of the VA judge? It did seem just like an intake session. We were ready to make argument and the judge just brushed us off, and now I know why.

Pete992 Yes, if the VA had rated me according to the evidence I could have had a much easier time trying to rehabilitate myself. I basically got myself back on my feet on my own. It took me much longer being that I was broke and getting just 10% from the VA. I will keep all posted. The VA back in the 70's was so bad that if you showed the slightest level of improvement they would reduce your rating. I was in a *&&^ sandwich. Go to school and get better and they cut your disability. Stop trying and end up institutionalized.

Find out from the VA if they have a NOD on file for you. If not file a NOD stating that this is a notice of disargeement with the original rating decision in capital letters as a heading. Then you can also add all the other stuff. Your former VFW VSO is all wet. You had a year from the date of your rating to file a NOD. What you need to know is if the VA considers the form you sent them a NOD or a request for reconsideration. Time is short. You want to protect your effective date so I basically agree with what Pete is saying.

I got a letter from the BVA today. It is addressed to my lawyer. I got the CC. It says I had a BVA Board Hearing in January of 2010. A BVA judge is reviewing my case. I thought that was what my hearing was about? Anyway, I think they made a decision after this letter was sent out, maybe. Why does it take them almost 7 months to make a decision on a point of law when my lawyer and I presented the whole case to a judge already. My lawyer wrote a brief. I testified. It was either a CUE or not a CUE. I don't understand the process. The whole point of a personal hearing is that the judge sees you and hears you. If you must wait 7 months for a decision then I am sure he has forgotten what I look like. I waited two years to finally get in front of a judge. I filed my CUE. It was immediately denied. I asked for a DRO Hearing. It was denied again. My lawyer asked for a personal hearing on top of the DRO. The CUE was denied. My lawyer went to the BVA. I am still waiting. What it is is that they just cannot see a way out of paying me, so they just deny it. Onward it goes. Will my lawyer drop the case if it is denied by the BVA? How long do you have to wait if you take it to the veterans court? I am not going anywhere, but I am getting older. It takes a lawyer with a lot of other cases cooking to wait 5 years on his investment. He has ridden with my claim all the way from the VARO to the BVA. I imagine he wants to win just to try and get his investment back. No SSD lawyer waits five years to get paid.

If you are 100% schedular you might want to apply for housebound. The VA is supposed to consider 100% vets for housebound.