john999

1994 How soon after discharge did you start getting treated for depression. What kind of discharge did you get? Were you treated for depression during service?

JR Which OPM plan did you choose? I have BC/BS. I have the family plan so it has to co-ordinate with ChampVA and Medicare. I was a postal worker. Since I have SSD my Disability retirement was reduced by 60%, so most of my pensin goes to my medical insurance.

Calnight I did the same thing with my voc rehab couselor. Basically, after all the testing and my physical and mental condition there was nothing I could do and she said so in the letter to me. I used it as evidence.

No the G.I. Bill is separate. You can use the G.I. Bill and then if you become disabled you can use Voc Rehab for school. I used all my G.I. Bill and then was approved for Voc Rehab, but by that time I was so old and disabled there was no point in pursuing it. A disability claim is in a class by itself. When you get a Veteran's mortgage the government is standing behind the load for a certain amount. It used to be a pretty small amout because I got a G.I. mortgage and it was a good deal at the time with no money down.

Yeah, the GAF thing is not the be all and end all. The VA is all over the place with GAF scores. Some get 30% with a GAF of 50 and some get 70% with the same GAF. What you really need is a good report that describes your level of disability and your symptoms, and how that interfers with daily living and work. How can any one really put a number on mental/emotional disorders?

The new guy at the VA was a professional soldier. That means he takes orders. He will do what he is ordered to do. If Obama tells him to make a radical change then he will do it. If Obama tells him to just walk through it then he will do that. He had his chance to stand up and tell the Joint Chiefs that the war in Iraq was a misguided fiasco, and like a "good soldier" he kept his mouth shut. He was fired anyway. These guys serve at the pleasure of the President. They are not independent thinkers.

Why does Obama think we need an ex-general officer (probably West Point) in charge of the VA? Maybe he will have the guts to speak up, but judging from what happened to him last time, maybe not. I would rather have a very experienced medical person with administrative ability who is not military. I had enough of that military mind when I was a soldier (suck it up).

I have been taking Zocor for about 5 years. No side effects at all and it lowered my cholesterol from about 270 to 160 total. You have to be careful with some of the supplements. Things like vitamin C it just gets excreted through urine but others like vitamin A could be a problem if you take too much. These things also interact with some other meds you may take. I don't think diet has much to do with very high cholesterol. Me and my brother ate the same diet when we were kids and in our teenage years his total cholesterol was almost 400 and mine was about 160. He went on meds for chlesterol before the statins were invented. You know the Finns eat meat and yogurt and have low levels of cholesterol. In the future they will discover that smoking, drinking alcohol and eating red meat is actually good for you, and vegatables are bad.

It sounds like PAD and you need to get to a doctor. Like others have said don't wait. It could be a clot in your leg arteries that could break loose and end up in your heart or lung. That is not good. Just drive to the VAMC ASAP and get someone to look at you. If you have medicare then go to a local hospital if you have to get there quick.

A GAF of 50 is not "moderate". It means you have serious symptoms. One of the most common types of depression is one that is connected to a medical condition such as chronic pain. I don't know anyone with chronic pain that is not somewhat depressed over loss of control and disability. If you can connect your depression to a SC condition you could be looking at a 50-70% rating. I got 70% for a mental condition and I had a GAF of 50. This was before I was diagnosed with chronic pain disorder.

VA and IOM will fight this until most of us Vietnam vets are dead then grant it for the 100 vets left in 2050.

I second what Yoggie says about getting a lawyer for SSDI.

I ended up in the ER with chest pains due to Panic Disorder. I thought I was dying. I had not slept in about 5 days due to anxiety.

We do need a guidebook on DIC so that poor spouses can understand this benefit.

Purple What was your stressor? Do you have combat awards or proof of an assult in service? Usually, PTSD claims are tripped up on the stressor verification.

I have AO claims and have discussed them many times here at Hadit. If your disability is on the presumptive list it is pretty easy. If not, or if you are in an area where the VA does not recognize AO exposure then it is hard. However, it can be done. I took the AO Registry Exam 8 years ago. I have 4 AO conditions, so I will be ready to discuss these claims with you anytime. Depending on the number of RVN vets we have here at Hadit at any one time the more AO gets discussed. There are great AO websites out there that show spray area concentrations in RVN not that it matters but it you were in III Core you were exposed for sure. RThomas Give us a rundown on your AO claim again so we can see what the sticking point is. Were you in RVN?

Brian Get a lawyer. You have that right now. If your SC was severed 35 years ago then you probably need some help to get it back after all these years. If your SC was severed for reasons that violate VA rules you might be entitled to mucho retro pay. A good and experienced lawyer might be able to sort this out.

Just tell your doctor that you have an SSD claim and you need help. If he/she does not want to do it then get another doctor. There is a certain type of wording the SSA needs to have to declare you totally disabled. The doctor must say you are disabled from all work now and for at least the next year. If your doctor is reluctant get an SSDI lawyer. These guys know doctors who will write something up for you.

I am reading tea leaves, and the entrails of dead animals, but I think November-December is a good time. I don't know if there are any statistics on this.

While I was waiting for my TDIU I had dental work done and after I got TDIU I got the VA to reimburse me for the work. It was not easy. Now I just had an implant. The VA said it was not medically necessary. Two civilian dentists say it was medically necessary. I might try under "unauthorised medical expense" to get some money back. It is a long shot but what the VA was telling me was just a lie because I would have ended up losing the opposing tooth eventually if I had not gotten the implant according to civilian dentists. I go to the Fee Base Office and start there. The VA then may ask for my dental records and some sort of explanation from my dentists. It is a long shot, but I am pissed off that the VA is so cheap. They did not mind pulling the offending tooth but they did not want to replace it. This flys in the face of all their BS about good dental care being essential to overall good health. I am diabetic so that is an even better reason to go the extra mile for my teeth. They are only concerned about the bottom line. Dentures are cheaper.

If you are close enough to the VARO hand deliver your evidence to them and get date stamped copies. I don't trust them to find their ass with both hands.

Carlie You got that exactly right. If there is anything in your medical records that is not SC then the VA will try to say that is why you can't work. They did it to me. I got around via a new IMO, but it was absurd. They just did not want to pay.

There is no typical time frame for getting your disability. I would not believe any of that stuff about percentage ratings you should get until you have it in your hand from the VA. Your rating will depend on your evidence.

If you are in a group plan for disability insurance through your job what happens is that once you get VA or SSD or workers compensation your disability insurance check is reduced. Disability insurance is a good thing to tide you over until you get your SSD and VA 100%. However, these disability policies are full of ways for the insurance company to shake you loose. They may send you to their crooked doctor to say you can work. I have disability insurance through a private policy. They have been paying for 7 years and still demand documentation every six months.

I am really surprised you did not get a DMII diagnosis in the Army. However, I agree that you should make a claim for DMII. You had the symptoms of DMII even if not the diagnosis in the Army. I sometimes think they avoid making this diagnosis because they know it will cost them. They may say something like high glucose readings or pre-diagnosis. There really is no such thing.