john999

When you made your claims did you get a VCAA letter that mentioned each and every disability that you claimed? The VCAA letter should mention each and every disability and what you need to win those claims. This is about the only way I know to be sure all your claims are in the system. I see you just retired so your procedure may be a bit different. You sure as heck want all your claims to be filed within the first year after discharge. It does not matter how long it takes on appeal but you want all the claims in the first year.

I agree that if your boy friend had HBP readings in service this might be the place to start. HBP is compensable and also can be shown to lead to heart disease and other cardiovascular problems like stroke. The SMR's are what you must mine to find something to go on to get SC'ed for the current problems. The more time passes between discharge and a claim the harder it gets. My brother has high cholesterol and it has been under control for about 20 years. So far he is ok. I have high cholesterol and mine in controlled but I still developed CAD due to DMII. Now I also take blood pressure meds. At present I have lived about 15 years longer than my father who died from heart disease (WWII vet who smoked and had no idea about cholesterol). If your boy friend smokes that is a deadly combination with high cholesterol and HBP. I am sure with his heart problems he does not smoke, but that is a warning to others.

The VA pain management nurse put in my records that I have "anger issues". This was because she proposed to discontinue my6%$$#$$% pain meds. What the &^%$ is her problem. I would like to get my hands around her &^^%%^& neck. What anger problem? Some *&(()&)+_ people are so *(&*)*)) sensitive. You think I am on the *&^&^&^*%^ black list maybe?

Last year I sent in two IU employment verifications to the ST. Pete VARO. They lost them both. I finally called them and gave a sworn statement over the phone.

Did your boy friend continue to take statins after he was diagnosed? You know if you are diagnosed with something like high blood pressure and then are SC'ed for heart disease the VA will resiste making the high blood pressure SC because it was found before the heart disease. This is their mindset so imagine how they will gook at you trying to prove heart attacks happened because a vet was diagnosed 15 years ago with high cholesterol. If he had chest pains or some other cardiovascular condition while he was in service that would be another matter.

Pete I think I would try and talk to a reporter about this. As long as they can get away with these things they will continue to do it.

Since it has been 30 years since the original injury I would want a really detailed explanation from the doctor to make the secondary connection. The VA will probably come back with the fact that these are just ordinary results of aging, blah, blah. The doctor should explain the mechanics of your injury and how it has affected your gait etc to cause these secondary conditions.

Free We have been over the IU/work debate many times. If IU people want to risk losing their 100% rating then they should go back to work and see what happens. To me it is not worth the risk. I think every vet who can't work should be rated 100% schedular because work is a central activity in an adults life when they are working age. However, if it is for a mental condition part of being 100% schedular is being unable to work. I don't care what people think, but I do care about losing the benefits I get from being P&T and IU for the last 8 years.

My VA AO registry exam discovered my DMII and my PN. You still have to file a claim. The doctor that did my exam told me to file a claim. It was the best exam I ever got from the VA. Since they are looking for possible AO diseases you have a better chance of having the AO exam doctor identify an AO disease. I would take the exam.

You can't claim alcoholism as a SC disability. You can claim certain secondary disabilities that result from alcoholism. If your PTSD resulted in alcoholism, and the alcoholism resulted in liver problems then you might be able to get the liver damage service connected. That is just one example.

Consider how someone outside the VA system would look upon a vet who is getting compensated for being unable to work and is working at the same time.

Jhawks The steroids may be the problem. They also may cause mood swings. They will increase your hunger.

Hey, I am overweight as well, so I am not mocking you. I know many medications will pack on the pounds. I am almost 60 years old and have DMII. If you find a way for the VA to pay for weight watchers let me know. Unless you can run about 10 miles a day you have to watch what you eat and drink when you get past middle age. When I worked doing hard physical labor I could eat or drink anything I wanted and not put on weight. When that helped break me down over years and I could not do that stuff anymore I gained weight. It is not easy to lose it and I know it. Some of the worst offending medications for weight gain are anti-depressants and steroids.

When does the VA consider being fat a SC problem as opposed to the bad habits of the veteran? About the only vets I see my age at the VA who are not somewhat fat are the haggard ones who drink their meals and smoke three packs a day.

Ask for a referral to the VA pain clinic. Be sure to rate your pain on a scale of one to ten as at least a seven. You have to complain like hell. Tell them your pain wakes you up at night and you have pain 24/7 that is making your life miserable. The next step is to get a psychiatric referral for chronic pain disorder.

If you get investment money from real estate that is fine. If you actively manage real estate for someone else and get a paycheck that is not fine for IU. If you make 100$ more than the very minimum poverty level and the VA starts to investigate then you may have a big problem. When you have IU and fly under the radar you become invisible to the VA. That is where you want to stay.

I had two DRO decisions on the same claim. My lawyer did it. I had three claims at the DRO. Two were granted and one was denied. My laywer asked for another DRO on the denied claim and got it. That was denied too.

Sorry for your loss, Pete.

IU is concerned with "earned income" and not "passive income" like form investing. If the income you get involves a W-2 form it is earned income, or if you pay SSA on it then avoid that kind of income.

I got up this morning saw the Blues walking like a man. I said "Good morning, blues, take my right hand"....Robert Johnson. "I went to eat my breakfast, the blues was all in my bread"...Skip James. "Can't eat, can't sleep. What's the matter with ya? The Blues got ya' "...Lead belly.

Broncovet I think the big thing about continiously presecuted claim is your effective date. It should be from the date you filed the claim regardless of how many NOD's, appeals and remands you got along the line. The VA often cheats on the effective dates on these kinds of claims such as making your effective date your last appeal instead of the date you filed the original claim.

One thing I would say for future referrence. If you file multiple claims be sure your VCAA letter addresses all these issues. If the VCAA does not address these issues then they may have fallen through the cracks. That will affect all you NOD's and SOC's and appeals in the future. Imagine the VA mail rooms of major VARO's. Imagine the chimps at the Zoo. When it comes to timeliness issues these things are the killers. Fill your calander with the important dates. Never miss a deadline. I know it gets complicated when you have claims at different stages of developement. Never assue you issues are being addressed until you get it in writing. If you don't get a VCAA letter on an issue you have claimed assume it is not in the system.

Josephine Tell the good folks at Hadit once more about your amazing victor over the Evil Empire and how much you colllected. Your story inspired me to go back and file my CUE claim right back to the day I was discharge. I thouhgt to myself if Josehpine can do it with all those cards stacked against her then I can do it. I still think they short changed you. I think they short changed me also and I am fighting back. I think that goes for many of us discharged in 60's and 70's.

SGT You need to get into treatment for your mental health problems at the VA. Family doctors are not fit to prescribe psychiatric drugs or do mental health therapy. I would also check out the Vet Center if there is one close to you. The VA runs on documentation. You need to have the VA treat and evaluate you for all your conditions and stay in treatment if it only means showing up and complaining. You can continue to get treatment outside the VA, but document your current disabilites and potential problems through the VA. You are a RVN vet. You may have agent orange issues in years to come.

I agree with Pete. If you have insurance look outside the VA for pain management. Your experience is why the VA gets a bad name they deserve. My VA pain management consists entirely of just pushing pills at me, or dumb things that are inaccessable to me. I live only 15 miles from the VAMC, but it takes an hour to get to the hospital because of parking problems. This makes things like PT a joke since it takes up the entire morning or afternoon just to get a treatment. These are just some of the roadblocks to treatment. There are lots of so-called programs available, but because of crowding and no parking it is more trouble than it is worth to take advantage of them. The VA says they want to "own" my medical care. I am not buying that idea because I want to live. I tried for fee base but was denied.