john999

You have benefits mainly for you spouse and dependents by being P&T. These are significant benefits including ChampVA and educational assistence for dependents. You may be entitled to state tax benefits as well.

Holdingon I think you have a good chance of getting SC for anxiety and depression because you have a history of being treated in service. You were diagnosed with these disorders it seems and even given a GAF. You were denied reenlistment because of this so the military can't deny you have a record of these disorders in service. They may try and say you had the conditions prior to service but that does not matter since your service aggravated these conditions and they accepted you as able bodied and you completed your first enlistment. I think the main risk is of getting low balled on % of disability. The VA is pretty liberal at handing out 10% ratings for everything from PTSD to schizophrenia.

I think there are safer meds out there than lithium. Neurontin and Topomax for two examples. I never heard of lithium for pain before. Lithium levels have to be carefully watched to make sure you don't get toxic.

Testvet I agree. I think if your income is not earned income you are OK. You could own a business and profit by it but you could not actively manage the business and keep your tdiu.

Terry You are probably banned from the Twin Cities on pain of death. They probably put the word out on you when you arrived in Florida and went for your first visit to the St. Pete VARO. The guys that abused you at the veterans home should probably be hanged.

Thanks Jay There is much confusion on the part of providers on the difference between champVA and tricare. I have had a lot of trouble finding a primary care doctor for my wife who takes ChampVA. They are happy to take medicare and Blue Cross.

I am still looking for docket number 03-37357 and cannot find it. Can anyone help? It was to do with DMII and PN. I have looked at all the postings on this subject. Berta, I think you posted this so maybe you can tell me how to get a copy of this decision. I can't find it anywhere.

If you had waited until the last minute to send in the NOD and they returned it to you past the one year deadline I bet you would be in hot water. Even though it is their mistake I think the VA would tell you that your appeal was dead. This is how these people do things. They make gross mistakes and want you to pay for it. You just cannot believe anything they tell you unless it is in writing and then you need to take a second look.

Jay How does this law affect those using ChampVA? As paranoid as I am I want all the medical insurance I can get including Part B for me and my wife. I would not rely on the VA to treat my dog if I had a dog. My wife has ChampVA and has many years before having to deal with medicare.

Arch I have peripheral neuropathy secondary to DMII. I have it in all four limbs. The VA granted it for the lower extremities but, based on the same evidence, denied it for the upper extremities. The justification was that one doctor said the PN existed before the diagnosis of DMII. So I ask why grant it for the lower extremities and deny for the upper. The VA's neurologist said polyneuropathy secondary to DMII and some intern said no connection between PN and DMII so they took the work of the intern. The half-ass DRO looked at the same evidence (he probably took 30 seconds) and upheld the initial decision without even mentioning the neurologist report. I know this is going to end up at the BVA but I have one more shot at the local level and I will take it.

I am going for a hearing at the VA regional office on October 27th 2005. I am not optimistic since the crux of my case is reasonable doubt. My wife is going with me to testify about the degree of my disability. The rating decision makes no logical sense and the De Novo review was just a regurgitation of the facts in the initial decision. I have never seen such a poor rating decision that is not even consistent with itself. If the BVA gets this case I hope they look beyond the quoted facts and look at all the evidence.

Testvet I think the VA is hoping you and your fellow lab rats will die before you can prove you case, hence all the lies and BS. Lying for VA officials is like getting out of bed in the morning. Don't give up on this.

I had a five minute exam with a VA doctor who never did a physical exam and the VA took his opinion over a board certified neurologist who did a physical examination. The VA does what it wants and then waits for the appeal.

Frosty I know a vet who got housebound for agoraphobia, so it is possible since you are already 100%. Pete Sawyer and me are going to file for it one day.

Jay I have never had the VA give me something I did not ask for and usually they deny what I ask for the first time. What about inferred claims? When the evidence is there of a disabiity and the VA never does a thing until you actually file a claim. If you don't know enough to file a claim you get nothing. How this affects spouses is really a shame.

How do I find docket 03-37-357? I have the same problem and a hearing coming up in a week. I could not find it at the BVA site by putting in the docket number. Your claim sounds strong! Terry They will used a neurologist for your PN exam. They do the pinprick test and some others. It all should be under the disability exams page for peripheral nerves. I think you want a neurologist to do a nerve conduction test. They stick a needle in your hands and wrists and check to see if there is a delay in the signal.

I got a form letter saying that if I was employed I had to report it.

Alex That is such crap from the VA. You wait a year or longer for the DRO and the guy is not even prepared and probably does not give a damn. That sounds just like a C&P exam. I think this is why they tend to parrot the initial decision. It is just easier to go along with the previous decision.

Pete The VA is going to use the Dallas VA as a model for all the other VAMC's in the country.

Pete Am I wrong or is the veterans health care in Texas of very poor quality. Texas has a large veterans population like Florida, but I don't think our care is quite as bad as yours. Close maybe. It is bad enough so that I would not go into a VAMC for surgery. What is it: the larger the vet population the worse the care? I know our VARO is horrible.

My father-in-law had a brain injury from service and he developed an anti-social personality. He was just crazy as a bed bug at times and commited serious criminal acts as a result. I liked him but his psychotic and criminal behavior driven by his brain injury made him dangerous to himself and others. He was hurt from the blast of a bomb going off near him. Head injuries can result in all kinds of strange behavior especially lack of self control. Jim if you had a serious head injury anything is possible but you need a doctor to say that. Inadequate personality is just a trash can diganosis. The doc who gave you that diagnosis was just out to screw you. Did you get the feeling he did not like you?

Pete I don't know if they lost it or removed it but I constantly checked on what the VA received from me and if they said they did not have it I sent it again and kept checking. Often times I would hand carry the stuff over there and get copies that were stamped "received on such and such a date". If you just hand it to them they will lose that as well.

Inadequate personality disorder is something the VA believes you were either born with or developed over time from childhood. That is why it is not ever considered service connected. It really makes no sense since the same is true of schizophrenia.

Leroy I bet this is just another attempt to cut costs at the veteran's expense. The VA figures the only good veteran is a dead veteran.

Berta That sounds like my DMII C&P. The doctor just asked me a few questions and said "You have diabetes". He glossed over the secondary conditions. The C&P lasted less than five minutes. I had a neurological exam the same day and it was abou 5 minutes but the doctor did give me a pin prick test for PN, and said you have polyneuropathy secondary to DMII. The VA dismissed that opinion and attributed the PN to previous injuries.