john999

Buck I can get a doctor to say almost anything for $2000, but how much weight would it carry at the VA? I can afford the IMO but with a 50/50 chance to get it SC'ed I don't like the odds. I believe some of our doctors for hire might make a case for me, but it seems that reputable doctors like the private pulmonologist who treats me and VA doctor will not say that it is likely as not my OSA is secondary to my DMII. They are too pure and noble to do that or too scared. If I could find a good VA whore doctor who would do it for $500 I might try.

What are the chances of winning a sleep apnea claim if you did not get sleep disturbance DX or treatment in service. After I was DX'ed and SC'ed for DMII I developed sleep apnea. I did have sleep problems in Vietnam but that was more not being able to sleep even when I was exhausted. I got DMII and I got fatter and I developed OSA. How would I go about SC-ing OSA since I already have high blood and CAD and with OSA I don't think I will live to be really old. The OSA has got to be driving the risk factors up for the SC conditions.

If you are having bowel control issues I think you are in another world than a guy like me who has lower back pain. I think you should consult a real doctor as in civilian spine surgeon. If you have bowel control issue it means the nerves in your back are being impinged/pinched severely. You probably have a herniated disc and not a bulging disc. This is one of the few real reasons for back surgery. Does your leg go numb at times? I would not fool around with this. The VA sent me for PT. It was a joke. Do you have medical insurance? I cannot believe any neurologist or orthopedist would not refer you to back surgeon if you are having bowel control issues! Worry about service connection later and get that back looked at by a real doctor. Tell them you are having bowel control issues. This is bright light indication you have serious problems with your spine. I have pretty bad lower back and I am seeing a real doctor in November. If I was browning my shorts I would be breaking down the doctor's door.

I was SC'ed for DMII and then got a 60% rating for secondary CAD. I did not claim CAD. What a CT scan showed was that I had some calcification of my veins and arteries in my left leg. That is what I claimed as secondary to DMII. I am not sure how the VA ended up with the 60% rating for CAD. I did not argue since it got me "S". I got this done back about 8 years ago when VA doctors were being allowed to help vets with medical opinions regarding claims. My regular VA GP created the best medical opinion out of her computer I have ever seen, so I know it was there all the time and all she had to do was plug in a diagnosis and some blah, blah. The VA stopped this program in a hurry. Getting 10% ratings for minor stuff is pretty much wasted effort unless it would put you over the top for a TDIU rating or something of that nature. There are some disabilities like DMII, high blood, and any sort of heart disease or cancer that are so serious that they tend to spin off many secondary conditions and I would claim them even if I got only 10%. I will claim any agent orange condition on general principles. With the DMII rating I got all my secondary conditions SC'ed. I would like to try and get my OSA service connected as secondary to DMII but I cannot get a doctor to back me up. When you have DMII you tend to get fat and getting fat tends to aggravate OSA which tends to drive up blood pressure and put a strain on hearts and brains. It is a chicken and egg dilemma.

When you file for secondary conditions you almost always need a medical opinion to show the nexus, current disability and to review SMR's to make the linkage needed for secondary conditions. After I was DX'ed with DMII due to AO I did file 7 more claims as secondary. I needed medical opinions on each one even the ones that were obvious. I also had to go for C&P exams for each one and VA doctors did not agree that my PN was due to DMII. I was examined by a neurologist who was overruled by a VA GP. More appeals etc. The VA did add actual percentage ratings to my overall rating which hit 90% and is frozen until I can get another 50% somehow, but I am not trying too hard. Eventually I had TDIU plus 60% and should have gotten SMC S, but I even had to claim that since VA neglected to award it to me. I think the VA is so backlogged they don't even look at old claims. I got my S but it was treated as a CUE. With ED they give you a 0% rating and SMC K which is around $100 a month. If you have GERD treatment or DX in your SMR's then claim it not as secondary. Secondary will cost you an IMO probably since you must make the linkage between PTSD and GERD. It is possible but you have to prove it with medical evidence.

Marty I know you think I don't understand your situation and am judging you. It took me 30 years to go from 10% to TDIU P&T. I was homeless. I had a lawyer represent me for over 6 years on a CUE we both thought was a sure thing because I had the medical evidence and so did the VA at the time. I lost and the lawyer lost a 6 year investment. I think he quit representing vets after my case. The VA pulled every trick in the book in my claim to deny me. I got my TDIU , but I did not get the money I still believe they owed me for 30 years of retro. If you want that retro pay you will need a lawyer or a guy like AskNod to jam it through and avoid the miles of red tape and booby traps. I know you earned your pension and your other benefits, but you must jam in down the VA's throat because they don't want to pay years of retro. I had a lawyer and I still lost, so it is not a easy and there is no justice in the system only a payday if everything falls just right. John

You must file for TDIU and specify which disability makes you unemployable. I am also 90%, but I have TDIU. It is a big difference in money. Plus once you get TDIU you may be eligible for SMC "S" which is another $300 a month. Now when you figure we get a 2% increase for me this means another $70 a month with my two SMC's. So all told my TDIU P&T plus SMC gets me over $3500 a month now and will be close to $3600 when we get the 2%. I had to fight for it and I was denied the first time around, but with Voc. Rehab you should apply yesterday.

I have a number of secondary conditions to my DMII. They used the date you first claimed the secondary condition officially. Even with my original DMII condition the VA doctors were hinting around that I had impaired glucose and pre-diabetes, but until I actually went for C&P exam and doctor said " You have DMII" I did not officially have it, nor did I get compensation. Once I had DM11 and I was getting compensation I did file for a bunch of secondary conditions. Six secondary conditions to be exact. I had to produce medical evidence to link each and everyone of them to DMII even though they were common secondary conditions for DMII. The VA did try and come up with alternative explanations and forced me to appeal. The dates EED were the dates I filed for each disability.

Have you tried to get a VA lawyer to help you. People here can give advice but it is usually general in nature. Do you have a private shrink? You cannot trust VA shrinks to help with your claim. They are basically prohibited in giving you the sort of help you need for a claim. I made all the same mistakes you made and then some over a 30 year period where I was spinning my wheels with the VA. I did not even know what TDIU was until I was filing for it. The fact I did not have good IMO/IME reports to submit with my claim over the years since 1972 to 2001 was the reason I never got a rating above 30%. When I got good IMO's I quickly got 70% and then P&T. After that I understood what was necessary I got an extra 60%, 20%, four 10% ratings and SMC "S". Medical evidence, the nexus and current disability are the whole deal. Often a good IMO can provide all of this. You have to do it step by step and if you are not able you need a professional to help you. It is like a brick wall that you are building one brick at a time. Don't give up and try to get a professional to help you. If it gets too bad admit yourself to a VA hospital. I did it twice and both times it ended up with me getting more disability. Both times I was at the end of my rope or I would not have set foot in those places.

You don't want to use a cell phone as evidence in a VA claim. Buddy statements that are signed/dated and notarized would be much better. You are not dealing with "Judge Judy". The VA is saying they cannot rule out a personality disorder. If you get the PD diagnosis it is death to most mental health claims. You must speak to these VA doctors with great care. Avoid all statements about your pre-service life. You were just fine before the military and now you are disabled. No discussions of childhood, high school, drug use, law problems or marriage problems IMO. You say you want to start applying for jobs? This is just the worst thing you can say. Do you know the difference between a personality disorder, PTSD and Depression? You need an IMO to clean these statements that quote you. The main thing is "don't talk about anything that happened before the military". You area being royally *&&^^% by what is coming out of your own mouth. The less you say the better. Let an IMO speak for you.

I would say that for all vets rated 100% or TDIU keep going to the VA for treatment and keep a steady flow of complaints. This is why after I got TDIU I did file more claims based on AO exposure . I do believe that if you have legitimate secondary claims that mean money or could be fatal then file.

I bought a house for $70,000 back in 1987. Now because of inflation the same house would cost me $400,000. I don't think I could afford that on VA compensation . I did all the right things. I invested my money and lived way below my means for years. I understand my 2% for SSA will be eaten up by increase in Medicare Part B which I must have. We are breaking down into two unequal societies one percent rich and 99% just making it. This is not the American dream it is the requiem for the American Dream. It is better than a sharp stick in the eye but more like a sucking sound in my wallet.

My advice is to get the highest rating any way you can get it. If it is depression or PTSD just max out your rating and take the money because that is all you will get. I know this because the VA DX'ed me with schizophrenia after Vietnam because they did not have a PTSD DX. What does it matter if you get the money? Get the 100% or TDIU and start building time at that rating so you can one day tell them all to go to hell where they belong.

I hired an attorney in 2006 and 7 years later I finally lost at Court of Vet Appeals. Sometimes no matter how much "justice" is on your side you will lose. VA law is not about justice but about the letter of the law. If you don't have the evidence and the law is not on your side you lose. It does not matter about right or wrong. It is the law. In 1972 when I first filed for VA compensation I was homeless. I was inside the VA's nuthouse. I went straight from the VA to the street. A year later I found out I had won my claim but instead of 100% I got 10% (28 bucks a month). l fought this for years. Finally after a career at the Post Office I got 30% and then 70% and then TDIU. I got royally screwed IMO, but since I survived and now have enough to live on I am not worried about what happened to me. When dealing with the VA or any government agency it is war, or suicide on the installment plan. They will get their pound of flesh even if you get 100% and every other benefit available. You cannot win but you can break even maybe. It is terrible and nobody but you and your family cares (maybe some on Hadit as well).

So you do have TDIU now? You don't need a PTSD DX since the VA will only pay you for one mental health disability. If you want back pay with a complicated claim you must continue to seek a VA lawyer to help you. If there is large possible retro pay you should be able to get one of them to take you. I had many attempts to get a lawyer to represent me on a retro issue. It took eight years and I still lost. If you have TDIU now thank your lucky stars . You want a ton of money. You get retired pay and you get concurrent receipt? You have not been turned away. You just want an EED. OK you situation is not dire. Are you getting social security? You won the game but just not as much as you wanted. I wanted back pay to 1973 and I think I deserved it. I didn't get it but I have enough to pay my bills just like you. I am not picking at you but consider you are lucky to have gotten what you got. Many get nothing and you got it all just not the all you want.

Get an independent medical opinion that says your are so disabled by your hip problems that you cannot work. You might also try and get a depression claim started as secondary to the hip problem. Almost all severely disabled people do suffer from some sort of depression being excluded from the work force and being poor and often in pain. You need medical documentation for all this. I started with 10% and now have 90% TDIU but it took years as I got worse and worse and could prove it. The VA wants evidence! Rational arguments do not work with them no matter how obvious.

Crossfit I can see why you are not happy with the VA. You experienced homelessness and hardship due to the VA stalling . I experienced the same thing in 1972 after Vietnam and VA started me off with 10% disability. It took almost 30 years of appeals and my own ignorance of the system to get TDIU P&T. I hated the people at the VARO. They hid themselves at the place in Bay Pines so that none of us could get at them. Many times VA looked me in the eye and lied. I try not to judge others when they file and get 100% for what I don't fully understand. If you are able to work I suggest you keep working for as long as possible. Never tell a VA doctor you "feel better". Just say you are coping. Any time you have a good claim that gets denied you are going to feel misery and some degree of disgust and anger towards those who judged you. I sure do! I should have had the full benefits I have today almost 40 years ago, so I don't feel gratitude to the VA. I lost a few hundred thousand bucks in compensation because VA took advantage of me and I got such poor advocacy from VSO's until I started to read Hadit and post. John

Yes, this is the fear factor to discourage vets from making more claims. If I was called in for a C&P exam for any of my issues I would be getting an IMO in a hurry and I would also be expecting a frame-up as well. Back in the 80's I had a C&P exam and that VA shrink was intent on severing my entire service connection. Too bad I had been SC for about 15 years at the time. First we get the Fear Factor for those on TDIU and now we hear about reduction exams. Does the government think they balance the budget on our backs?

Get a lawyer who does VA claims. You should claim depression instead of PTSD I think. Do any of your SMR's show DX or treatment for any mental health issue? You have DMII so if I could not get depression as main claim I would try for it as secondary to your DMII. You need help because the VA has you on the Merry-go-round and means to keep you on it until you expire. You need someone on the ground to help you do your appeals and your hearings.

What have we gotten over the last 7 years..........maybe 10% while cost of living has probably gone up 30%. Computers are cheaper now but all my other bills have gone way up over the last 7 years. The way the government defines the things that go into the COLA leaves food and energy out of the equation. Housing prices in my neighborhood are more expensive than they were before the housing bubble crash. If the only money I was getting was from the VA and my retirement pension I could not buy the house I am living in today. I am happy to get the 2% since I cannot get that much from a savings account or a money market account.

Ham That's funny! Sort of like the Court of Vet Appeals judges did me on my CUE claim. I had a CUE going back to 1973 and I had one of the best vet lawyers and we still lost at the court. "We may feel sympathy for this vet but the law is the law". Judge Roy Beam, Law west of the Pecos, who fined a dead man for vagrancy.

I am not expecting to see TDIU go down the drain but we are all on notice that our government does not give a damn about us. None of them care and I have known that since Vietnam. The powers would have spent my life like an old cartridge without a second thought so &^^^% them. They throw dirt in your face and expect you to like it.

Does your state offer "disability retirement"? I worked for the Feds and I got disability retirement pension, SSDI and TDIU. This might allow you to keep your insurance. My advice is start saving now for the rainy day that may be coming. If you have a 401-K or IRA you can tap it if your are disabled but you still pay tax. You need income from the time you apply for TDIU until you get it.

Ham I think one of the recent issues of VFW magazine spent an entire page slapping themselves on the back for saving TDIU from the ax. The vet advocates know that cutting TDIU would put thousands of vets into poverty and would eliminate Chapter 35 and DIC benefits for thousands of spouses and dependents. Even tax cutters and big spenders in government must know that screwing disabled vets is not popular. Now if this were 1975 I could believe our leaders would have screwed Vietnam vets without a second thought.

The VA is not taking away TDIU for those over 65. For PN they treat each limb as a separate disability since I also have it.