john999

I would get to my C&P exam if I had to crawl. Chances are if you don't go they will say you were AWOL from the exam and deny your claim. They did it to me twice when they did not even notify me I had an exam. I get the decision letter saying I skipped my exam....what exam? I had to file a damn NOD to actually get the exam.

If you started to complain about heart condition soon after Gulf War I would say you have a better chance. If you waited 18 years to file for a heart condition presumptive to GW illness you have a steep hill to climb.

Yes, explain to him what you are trying to accomplish. If he does not want to do then you know this guy is not going to be any help. He may say he needs to treat you for a while to make that determination. You know you need something besides just a note. These secondary condition things require a good nexus statement that explains how,why, when etc.

Do you have a medical report that states that your depression is secondary to the Hep C? If you are claiming any secondary conditions to the Hep C you have to have a medical report that states the connection in no uncertain terms. It is like that with almost all secondary conditions you claim even the most obvious. I had three secondary conditions SC'ed to diabetes. I had to have medical opinions for all of them. I don't think it would hurt to file the TDIU form. It might delay a decision on the other ratings, but if you wait then you have to file for TDIU and they treat it just like a separate claim. Have you seen the nexus statements posted on Hadit? You want it in that type of format if possible.

I would just wait for the decision in writing. Once you get it think about hiring a lawyer. If there is potential for backpay that will interest the lawyer then you can fire the DAV. If they did not win for you dump them.

I think you probably need to get your SMR's and go see doctor Bash or someone like him. You need someone to review all your medical records and to tie it together and do the things that Pete and Bronc have said about a nexus. It is like going to court. You need to prove with evidence that your injuries are sevice connected. Dr. Bash is going to be your lawyer to that extent. Negotiate Bash's price.

These VSO's sell insurance as well. I would not be surprised to see them do like AARP. This creates a gross conflict of interest. Everyone wants to get rich, especially top board members of these so-called nonprofits.

Actually, if the lawyer can win it locally you are better off than getting in the two-three year line at the BVA. I don't think they want to pile up the time. I think they want to get paid as fast as possible. The lawyers have bills to pay. If it has to go to the BVA you are sure better off with a lawyer. Call your lawyer on the phone and ask them what is going on with your claim. Stay cool and see if it sounds like they are being truthful with you.

Just remember that no matter what your C&P doctor says this is only one round in the fight to get your full benefits. This is a long term fight. There is no glide path to a correct rating. You have to adjust the range on your target. Persist no matter what bs they throw at you. Be ready to get an IMO if you do not get exactly what you want. If you get 50% then why not 70%. It is just a matter of finding the right combination of buzz words and avoiding pitfalls. You are matching wits with people who want to grant the lowest benefit possible while you want the highest benefit possible. I have zero respect for that process, but that is the way it is for us vets.

You have to have a medical professional spell out the connection between your injuries or illness and your military service. The VA won't connect the dots. You can have all the evidence in the world but unless your doctor makes the nexus between service and your injury nothing happens. The VA will find someway to create daylight between your service and you injuries unless you have a good nexus statement from a doctor.

you know if you have chronic pain that is a multiplier of any type of emotional disorder you might have and vice versa.

If the VA is going to infer a TDIU claim based on having SSDI they have to know about it. As soon as I get SSDI I would file a formal claim for TDIU.

Where is your claim now? You can solve all your problems at the VARO if you have the evidence. You don't need a two year trip to the BVA if you have evidence to support SC for PN. What you need is medical evidence to show nexus between military injury and your PN.

This just shows DAV's preoccupation with younger vets as that is where the dues money is going to come from in the future. DAV has not even solved the blue water vets status who were exposed to AO.

You have to remember that VA considers chronic pain disorder to be an emotional disorder like PTSD or depression. The physical parts of the pain disorder are so intertwined with psychological factors they treat it as if you have a mental disorder. I am SC for chronic pain and some emotional problems, but it all comes to 70%.

You should file for an increase in the condition that forced you to take disability retirement. You can ask for TDIU at the same time. You need one condition of at least 40% but that should not be too hard if you had to retire on disability. Did you apply for SSD yet?

Vets should get a heath care POA and name a health care surrocate. Everyone should have a POA and a Will. Health Care POA is very important because that person can determine health care decisions in disputed situtations. It can happen where somebody besides the spouse or child decides they want to horn in on health care decisions including getting an autopsy. The State can even get involved in your health care decisions if you don't have a Surrogate and paperwork to make your last wishes known. For example, there is a spouse and step children. There may be a legal dispute about treatment, DNR's, and every conceivable thing to do with a person's last hours. If it is not stated in writing you may end up in court. Some hospitals will attempt to ignore even written instructions about DNR's and life and death decisions.

If you were treated for depression while in the military then you have what you need without going through the stressor verification process you need for successful PTSD claim. If you have a diagnosis of depression in your SMR's and you can show that you have been treated on some sort of regular basis for this since you have been out of the service all you need is a current diagnosis of depression then you have what you need. You may have PTSD but why chase that ghost if you have solid evidence of depression which as others state is just as compensable as PTSD. Plus, I believe the VA is gearin up to make it harder and harder to get a PTSD diagnosis because of the wave coming at them from OIF/OEF vets. I had a diagnosis and treatment for an anxiety disorder,depression and schizophrenia while in service. I was treated for it by private doctors constantly for years. I got my IU without going into PTSD claim even though I had the evidence for that as well. It just was not necessary. You don't have to reinvent the wheel if the spokes are already in place. The only ones who have fairly easy time with PTSD claims are guys with PH's and CIB's. Everyone else has a hard fight.

Don't waste your time with politicians unless you have a check in your hand, or you are from the NRA. Veterans are something they scrape off their shoes on the curb.

You know claims are won on evidence. If you have medical evidence of service connection that is going to be the factor that is going to win your claim. Getting the VA to read and consider your evidence is the hard part and VSO's don't help much with that. They are OK as a mail drop but I would never trust them to file a claim for me or handle my evidence. That is something you need to hand deliver to the VA and get copies of everything you give them.

Forget the CUE for now. Focus on getting IU or 100% based on what you can prove now. Don't mention CUE or bring it up to the VA. You will end up on a long chase and if you don't hire a lawyer who believes in your claim you won't live long enought to win it. You got your foot in the door, and now you have to break it open with what you got now. The CUE hunt is a good thing if you have your IU or 100%, but I would steer clear until I had IU in the bag. It is too risky.

I agree that you have to get the secondary conditions service connected before you will get TDIU. I also advise you to start to see a VA psychiatrist and get a depression secondary to general medical condition claim up and running. If you are taking methadone then you have something to be depressed about!!!!! Have you applied for SSD?

Idiopathic means they don't know the cause. If they are saying your PN in your feet is idiopathic then they are trying to weasel out of connecting to the flat feet. Considering how much pain you are in for all these things I would get a lawyer for my IU claim. Going from 10% to IU is a big jump and you have a lot of loose ends to tie up. I understand very well how foot pain can morph into so much pain you can't work. If you can't walk it is hard to exercise so it is easy to put on weight which makes the feet and back and knees worse. It is a feedback loop of one condition aggravating the others. You have to break the loop somewhere. My foot problems led indirectly to my losing my good job. It went from miserable foot pain to being sedentary to getting more depressed to back problems and on and on.

If you have flat feet, PN and tarsel tunnel syndrome there is so much overlap that I don't know how the docs really pull it all apart. The flat feet can cause the tarsel tunnel. The symptoms are so similar to PN, but I know the surgery to fix the tarsel tunnel can be a mess and have a long recovery. If you have DMII you probably don't want any surgical cure for foot problems unless you are just unable to walk. My feet have started to swell after I walk so bad that if I take my shoes off I can't get them back on again. My civilian podiatrist thinks my back problems could be connected to the feet or vice versa. Foot problems are the disease that no one thinks about until their feet start to hurt like a toothache. You are not even aware of them until they hurt. I sometimes feel like I would like to have my feet amputated they hurt so bad.

The C&P exam said "mild pes planus". I don't think you get to 30% with that diagnosis. That is why I say get an IMO. The C&P doctor points to his impression that there is no explanation of how the flat feet contribute to the vet's other problems. This exam is weak. You need an exam that says your knees, back are connected to the flat feet and how this has happened over the years. The way to get a higher rating overall is to also go to a shrink and get a diagnosis of chronic pain due to general medical condition. If you say you can't work,and I believe,you then you need more than flat feet to get there. The C&P doctors exam is not tight. There is room for raters to just run all over you. You could work at a sedentary job with flat feet and that is what the VA will probably say if you are going for IU. Don't fight with the VA over their half ass exam. Get one of your own that nails it. I have foot problems as well and it can disable you, but doctors seems to think unless you can't walk you have minor problems. I have PN and my feet swell and burn and hurt but I only got 10%, and I can't even get my shoes on at times.