john999

I think a congressman or senator could help a vet if they really wanted to do it. However, it is much easier to just pass along the BS they get from the VA than to dig into a claim and find out the VA is lying about something. They nominate some jerk like Peake and he gets approved by all. How can they give a damn if they don't see a gross conflict of interest there. Now Peake waits a year and goes back to QTC with something waiting for him in his stocking. The congress will only give a damn when vets force the issue. All the rest is talk and it is cheap. I was listening to the old Fixin-to-die-rag by Country Joe. What a difference 40 years makes. This is a nation of sheep. Consumerism is the opiate of the masses. I liked it better when opium was the opiate of the masses.

Being at the BVA is sort of like being on death row. You know you are going to get it one day, but you don't know exactly when the wheel will turn.

I was rated 10% for PN for each hand and each foot. I don't see the bilateral factor applied in my case either. When you get a pretty high rating, but not 100% it is very hard to get it to 100%. That is VA math. If you are 80% disabled then you are 20% abled. 10% of 20% is 2%, and it gets worse as you go forward.

Berta You made a heavy argument. "All information in the record is considered to have been evaluated" quote Cruiser. Cruiser is an ex-VA claims examiner. Some of his information is good, but he has the "the VA is always right" problem. I just posted to get them going. If I listened to people like that I would still be at 30% and homeless. There are some smart people over at VBN, but the VA bias is awful. They are telling a guy who was rated 70% and only works part time that he has no shot at IU. The VA told the poor guy he had autism. This is an ex-military guy who know has problems, and they are telling him he is autistic. That is like saying he has a PD. Some of these things are beyond incredible. We need to surround VBN and do a hostile take over. Joking!

I posted at the VBN about my CUE. The heavy hitter (Cruiser) came on to tell me that any evidence in the VA's file is considered to have been reviewed even if they never mention it in your decision. I pointed out the absurdity of that since the VA could then choose to ignore any evidence they have they don't like such as SMR's. Am I nuts or something? Where is due process in this. Also this Cruiser guy said I had a whole year to appeal, so CUE is shaky. That is the point of a CUE. You can go back after a final decision to correct glaring error. Why bother to submit IMO's if the VA can just ignore them, and never refer to them in the decision?

Good luck in getting off hydromorphine without going into a detox facility. It is like oxycontin and addictve as hell. All the drugs were are talking about are addictive to some extent. The anti-depressants are not really addictive like a narcotic, but they do have some effects if you stop taking them suddenly.

Dr. Phil was a draft dodger as was Cheney. GWB hung out in the reserves safe in the skys of Texas. We have a miserable record of Baby Boomers being not very willing to do the right thing. The richer ones let someone else's kid do it. I did not meet one person who had worked in Wall Street in Vietnam.

You need some evidence that this doctor is profiting illegally from pushing Effexor to VA patients. How to get that evidence? Go to the I.G. but I doubt they will do a damn thing with no evidence. The patient advocate is probably sharing in the skim if there is any. You have no evidence that your doctor has violated ethics or the law. You need to become a detective on your own and get evidence. I am not saying your doctor would not do something illegal, but you need to nail him with evidence. We had a psychologist at the VA that was running a home for homeless vets and charging them for food and shelter, and also getting money from the VA to support the Vets. He is in jail now. He got caught from another illegal racket he was doing. The VA never caught him. He was exposed by the local press.

Clenching the jaw will also cause TMJ over time. I have that and I broke a few crowns from pressure. Now I have stainless steel crowns. Call me jaws.

I saw the show. Two vets have to get charity to get help with service connected problems. These injustices should be shouted from the roof tops. There should be 20 Dr. Phil type shows letting the American people know how veterans are being treated. The show did not mention the fact you have to prove you have PTSD via a verifiable stressor even if you spent 4 years in a combat zone. Filner said the VA strategy is to deny,deny,deny and wait for people to forget. People assume that disabled vets are being taken care of by their government. What a bunch of sheep. They avert their eyes not to see the awful truth. We could really fill them in here on Hadit, but no one is listening. Vietnam all over again. Years from now there will be thousands of OIF/OEF vets living as homeless types just like the generations before them.

Command Bob I clench and grind my teeth. I have TMJ as well. I sometimes use a nightguard to stop it. For some reason clonazepam makes me clench my teeth.

How far with the award for ALS go back in retro. If a vet died 20 years ago from AlS would his widow be eligible for DIC now, and would it be retro to his death?

He ought to see a dermotologist right away. When moles start to look bad it can be serious stuff. I never heard about moles rupturing. I heard about them bleeding and being irregular in shape (warning sign). Unless they are warts.

I found a medical report in my C-File from 1973 that may win me a CUE that would be big bucks. You never know what you might find in there including some other vet's NOD that the VA claims was lost 20 years ago.

I don't smoke and I have taken very good care of my teeth over the years. I had a root canal that went bad and got infected. The VA pulled the tooth, but when I asked about the implant they said "You will never miss that tooth". My dentist said I would lose the opposing tooth if I did not get an implant. I go to the dentist four times a year. The Army pulled two teeth when I was in that could have been fixed. I was on my way to Vietnam, so I guess they thought I might not need those teeth anyway. If you have the cash you will probably get better care from a civilian dentist. I use the VA for cleanings and minor stuff. I got a filing or two, but when they denied the implant and told me that tall tale about my not needing it I begin to wonder if I even want to go back there. They do good x-rays.

I feel like if you can get into the system and get a decent PCP then you can get pretty good care at the VA in general. I would not want them to do a triple by-pass on me. That I will pay for via medicare and my insurance.

You would think the VA would do every thing in the world to encourage a 100% vet to get rehabilitated, so that he could work. The end result would be a reduced benefit, but it would be worth it to the VA and the Vet. I would rather be making a good living at a good job than collecting 100% for 40 years. No promotion possibility at 100%. The question is does the VA see it that way? They used my being in school to keep me at 10% for years. They said if you are able to go to college how can you be seriously disabled. They used my college dergee to question my disability, and to call me a liar for saying I could not work. We are dealing with assholes.

I had to pay for my own implant because the VA dentist said it was not medicallly necessary. That is code for "cheap". I have two civilian dentists that both say the implant was necessary, unless I wanted to lose the oppposing tooth. Implants are pretty complicated. I am not sure I would want a general dentist at the VA to do one anyway. It is a job for an expert and there is lots of room to screw it up. The VA should pay for it. They always say dental health is so important to overall health, but then they don't want to pay for it. Certain teeth just have to be implanted because there are no other teeth on which to hand a bridge. The VA will pull a tooth anytime. They believe in dentures because they are cheap and that is the God they have before them...."spend as little on the vet as possible since they are going to die anyway". They show so little respect for veterans, and place dollars and cents far above our well being. The VA could not even make me a decent nightguard without five foulups first. My VAMC serves about 250,000 vets and yet the dentist office is tiny. You have to go through more inspection to get dental care at the VA than to get into the Whitehouse.

I would send in the NOD and ask for a "DRO Hearing" which is different from a review. I asked for De Novo Reviews with my NOD's in the past and it did not work. All I got was a "cut and paste" denial based on the original decision. You got to insist on a personal hearing with the DRO. The hearing will be very informal and you can bring new evidence and testimony. This is your chance to make your main points. The whole claim can turn on just having a DRO read a few lines of evidence. They will record the hearing and get a transcript to you. You should get something from the VA confirming the fact you are getting a DRO Hearing. Have a VSO or someone who is calm, cool and collected present your evidence for you, and your husband. Whatever you do don't lose your cool. Everything in the VA system can be appealed.

Remember the "Tiger Teams" what happened to them? They were supposed to speed up claims. I bet they are just another holding area for claims so VA can say they did something while doing nothing of consequence.

TSSNAVE What you say about VA dropping some vets down from 100% schedular to TDIU without telling them is a really deadly bit of double dealing. We need to get the citation for that since it could be a serious weapon in the VA's hands to kick people off TDIU because they are working believing they are still 100% schedular. I know they can deny claims without telling you when you have more than one claim in the system at one time. Say you have five claims in for different conditions. The VA grants two claims, and does not mention the others. That is as good as a denial from what I have heard here on Hadit. You have to NOD the claims not mentioned within the one year time limit. If they say they are deferring a rating on the other three conditions that is different.

Why not go to school under Vocational Rehabilitation? I think it pays more. My only concern is since you are 100% the VA may see this as an improvement, and call you in for an exam. If you use the VA to put you through school they will have access to success as a student, and this may call into question any notion of P&T. I believe that as long as you are not working then your 100% is pretty safe, but you might want to check it out with others before you let the VA know you are using their dollars to get education that will make you employable. It seems like a great idea to me and makes sense from an economic point of view, but the VA has weird ideas. They like their 100% people to be basket cases if they have a mental problem.

Your rep probably has never done a successful CUE in his life, and the DRO has probably never granted one. I had a DRO about 5 months ago and I had a CUE as the centerpiece. It was obvious to me, and the lawyer, and even the DRO, but as yet I have heard nothing and expect to be denied and have it kicked up to the BVA. This is my depressing, Christmas outlook on life.

Many of the meds for schizophrenia, both old and new, have terrific side effects. There is one side effect I had where my muscles all cramped up and my jaw locked. I did not have schizophrenia, but the army gave it to me anyway. Long term use of all the drugs like thorazine can give you permanent shakes and involuntary motions like jerks and tics. These drugs are really potent and would knock down a horse.

TestVet was just kidding me. We are both ex-postal workers if I remember right. We got the boot up our asses so often we began to feel like shoe horns. TestVet knows what it is like to be &^^%%$ over by the VA. You have to either laugh or cry.