john999

No, you don't have to report your SSA to VA. If you were on SSDI that would probably help you get 100% or TDIU but If you are already TDIU 13 years I think you probably should have claimed SSDI instead of waiting for regular SSA at 62. SSA and VA are separate and entirely different systems. Why did you not file for SSDI many yeas ago? That is your business, of course, but SSDI is more that the SSA at 62. John

Give that exam doctor a kick in the yarbells for hinting you may be faking the severity of your symptoms. I have had the say much worse things about me as in "Vet is faking his symptoms because he has a degree in psychology".. Is that stupid or what. John

The VA's favorite statement is that "Veteran's Records are silent regarding such and such". This is death toll ringing for your claim usually. I was examined by a VA dentist for TMJ. The doctor told me that there was nothing he could do about it. Much later when I looked at my SMC's the dentist had just written in " exam" and no DX, so the VA said my records were silent on TMJ and I lost. I got serious after that and got IME's for SC mental condition since VA drove me nuts . John

Today I realized my pain meds are six days late. They were supposed to be sent out on the 8th of December. The VA pharmacy is closed on weekends. Walgreens is open. CVS is open. All real pharmacies are open 7 days a week, but not the VA. I can't even check to see if my meds have been shipped. I trusted them once again to just do what they said they would do after years of failure. Fortunately, I have options. If I was good little vet I would be in withdrawal right now. I have to go out there on Wednesday anyway. If they don't have my meds or have not refilled them I will just take it in stride. Another FUBAR situation with my friends at the VA. They wait until past due date to send stuff to me knowing it will take days. I changed doctors and everything is a mess until I see idiot doctor. I did send them written request for refill. I need to hold their hands to make sure they send them out to me. I know they have forgotten because I get them UPS and nothing in the system. John

If you want to get TDIU you should get an IME that states due solely to your SC conditions you cannot work. I would hire a private shrink who knows how to do an IME/IMO and get the report and file your TDIU claim. You can often get one for 300-500 dollars. Just because you are 90% and are out of work will not get you TDIU. You can file for it but you must have medical or vocational rehabilitation evidence that you can't work. You will probably find the VA shrink you have does not want to get involved and you will end up seeing a C&P shrink who may say you are just fine. I had one say he could not evaluate me for TDIU because I was unemployed. John

Yes, I see where is says you were at TSN Airbase. You won on that paperwork! Well, I was lucky since I had RVN right on my DD214. I spent the whole year at a small air base near Bearcat. I don't know if I was exposed or not since we were in a rubber plantation and they did not spray the rubber trees. We did blow them up every chance we got and the USA paid for our damage. The USA paid for each tree we shot up, blew up or just dug up for sake of perimeter defense. Did you say you actually went back to Thailand to get evidence? If HIV had of been around then you probably would have got that as well from dirty blood. I think you should get your PH and Air Medals. You deserve them for what they are worth. John

I think I see 10% probably both feet. The VA rated my PN for each limb. I got 10% due to pain and some numbness. I had some problems because my upper PN was DX'ed before I actually had DX for DMII. I got 10% in each limb but actually my upper is some kind of neuropathy probably more related to my neck. It is ten times worse than my feet and they hurt. Do your feet ever feel like blocks of painful wood? You know the PN starts in feet and hands and then works towards the center. The worst danger is that you get a cut or abrasion on your foot and you don't feel it until it gets infected. I got a staff infection and because of the PN it took forever to heal. Regardless of your rating take care of your feet. I let some quack podiatrist do something invasive to my left foot which was very "minor". I got an infection so bad I had an operation and my foot is still not normal 3-4 years later. There was a guy at the post office where I worked who had DMII. He just would not attempt to control his eating. He got his foot cut off and then died later on about 2 years. When they give you 10% it does not compensate you at all compared to the pain and danger you are in of losing a foot. We have a vet here who drops by named Terry. He has 40% in each lower limb. That must be hell, but he soldiers on somehow. I can't even stand in line at the airport or sometimes grocery shopping. I am riding around in a scooter because my feet hurt so bad. John

Yes, I don't react well to Christmas. So many bad things happened to me at this time of year and it reminds me of what I never had according to happy family rule of the holidays. We are given this Hollywood version of family life, and when things don't fit that groove we wonder what went wrong. Of course, it is not us but unrealistic projection of "happy family" and Norman Rockwell version of family life in America. I think if Dave can get on opiate contract with the VA he can stay on it if he just obeys the rules to the letter. In Florida these pain doctors assume everyone who is not dying from cancer is a dope fiend. DEA is behind all this grief. Dope fiends will get there drugs, but disabled chronic pain people will suffer and the price of dope will go up. I do hear that now heroin is making another comeback. John

Sorry myself since I see you are genuine. I had a shrink say my problem was that I was very "far away from God". Well, that's true. Very sorry about your cancer and your PTSD. I just don't think there is a cure with or without prayer. There are guys from WWII that still have PTSD 70 years later. I did meet a religious shrink who was kind to a person I know with severe manic depression and treated her for free. He did a Second Opinion on me for the OWCP and did not say I was a lying dog and faker like some others who get paid to stop compensation. I apologize for being so resistant to the religion thing. Whatever helps you survive as long as it is not pounded into you. I don't think religion or politics (except VA politics) belongs here on Hadit, but I don't make the rules.......thank God. John

AskNod You never mentioned being shot? I know this happened when you worked for Air America so all that was sealed or something? Did you ever get your Air America records? You must have or you got records from hospital where you were treated? Am I right? Your case is like a nightmare from which you don't wake up until you are dead. I know, or think I know that you did some back flips to get all your problems service connected. I was in army hospital for horrible lung infection and those records as well as psychiatric out patient records are in the wind for me. I finally found out that doctor who treated me refused to turn over records to courts martial when army was trying to skin me alive. He said giving up those records would hurt our therapeutic relationship. What relationship? I was being court martialed out of the army. I was not going to be seeing that jerk ever again. I do remember seeing a psychiatrist in Vietnam and describing dissociative symptoms I was having. I also remember him writing in my records I was personality disorder and the army should just kick me out. This is a guy I would like to water board.

Hey, I don't care. I have a pile in a safe place just for such pitfalls. Get that emergency fund if you have to squeeze your budget like a tooth paste tube. If you are just living from one VA/SSD check to another you are spending too much. You just have to have at least 3 months in an emergency fund and 6 months or a year is better. We are vets. We are subject to whims of congress. Call the Sons of Liberty and break out the pitch forks.

I get pain meds from the VA. It is getting harder I think. Are Dave's pain meds for service connected conditions? The VA quotes a basic rule they have where they must recognize and treat your pain. This means Dave must insist that his pain is measured every time he goes to the VA. On a scale of one to ten he should be at least at 7 or 8 every time he goes. If Dave does get on opiate plan at the VA he will have periodic pain med checks. The VA is trying to get all of us chronic pain victims off the opiates. I have been on them way over 5 years and closer to ten years. If you get on the plan never get off it. Don't let them talk you into some in-patient pain clinic where you get off opiates and then have to get back on them. Once the VA has you off them you may never be able to get them again is my opinion. The VA got me on the narcotic pain meds. Now after years they say "I" have a drug problem. I say the VA has a drug problem as in being the largest dope pusher in the nation. They want to blame the victims of their malpractice. Really, the opiates that would do me the most good are the ones the VA will not prescribe for me like oxycontin which is long lasting oxycodone. This is what I need and what I get are crummy patches and bottles of short term oxycodone. My moods swing all over the place because of this but I get some relief. John

Berta's advocacy for herself is rather breathtaking since she was a spouse. There are some here that are as good as 90% of lawyers. I know the general outline of claims system, but I had Ken Carpenter as my advocate at CAVC and we lost. Britton, you are right. If you don't file it then you can never win. My CUE seemed so clear to me and my lawyer until the BVA started to do their tricks. They admit that my evidence in the record was never considered, but then come back with another theory that my evidence is not undebatable, and I cannot prove it would have change the outcome of the original claim. I see that the CUE is really for gross mistakes that are almost clerical in nature. For instance, they decided your claim with another's vet's evidence. You did not file NOD within one year, but still that is gross violation of due process. I "think" that might be a CUE. However, after my experience I am not sure. I had doctor's report on a VA form that was used back in 1972. The VA never considered it, but because of VA law I cannot prove they did or did not consider it. It was assumed that the VA carefully considered all evidence you sent them before 1990. They sent my rating and appeal rights to the wrong address and it was returned as addressee unknown. How would I know about appeal rights? AskNod says even that may not be a CUE because I knew that I was getting compensation which stopped and started every time I moved. I let the lawyers play with this because I knew it was over my head and big money riding on it. I will be glad to give them 20% if we win. My original lawyer has been on the case since around 2008 I think. He has been with me to DRO and BVA hearings. He flew from New Jersey, so you know he believed in my claim. He has made trips to DC and even paid for filing my court case (well, so far). How can those who are supposed to know be so divergent?

You have to be on SSD to get medicare and then it takes two years. There might be some loophole for your wife if you are low income. I have secondary insurance that is primary for my wife and secondary for me since I get Medicare. If I was still working and eligible for medicare then Blue Cross would be primary. Since I am retired my primary is Medicare. My wife has Blue Cross as primary and ChampVA as secondary. I pay way too much for the Blue Cross for myself. However it is a good deal for my wife. Neither one of us don't have co-pays or deductibles because of having good insurance. I get my monies worth since I have so much wrong with me. My wife goes to the ER when she is sick as a dog or thinking she is having a heart attack (anxiety, indigestion, etc). If you have ever had a $100,000 hospital bill then you will want that extra insurance. I had homeowner's with AllState for 15 years and never made a claim. I was cancelled due to living one mile from Tampa Bay. Now I pay 1% of the actual value of my house for homeowner's insurance. I have all kinds of insurance: $1,000,000 umbrella, LTC insurance, Life insurance, medical, Home, Car and two annuities. Have you ever been sued? I have. I will pay for the umbrella insurance. Hit some kid on a bike and you will be sued even if you are only .1% responsible or negligent. I have disability insurance. I have collected at least $100,000 over the last 13 years from a policy that costs about $650 a year at that time. My annuity acts almost like a 500,000 dollar life insurance except the money would be taxed. There are some good riders you can add to immediate variable or fixed annuities. For instance, you get one rider using your IRA money and the payouts based on that amout can never go down and are guaranteed to increase 5% a year if you don't take distributions. Now if I were living just on my own I would probably not buy an annuity, but what about your spouse? You want them to have no cash flow while they wait for pension survivor benefits or DIC. I know where GAPapa is coming from and I think I could self insure, but not the wife. She is not oriented to future. Future is lunch or dinner now that it is past 1pm. John

I got a CUE from December, 1971 that is for 100% rating that is sitting at federal court. I talked to my lawyer about it recently. It is moving slowly. If I win I will probably have a heart attack and drop dead. I am 60% for CAD, so I need to be sitting down. If I did win anything my lawyer will be on the phone in a hurry. Things that good don't happen to me. It is like the Lotto. Somebody must win, but it won't be me. If I win the Tbird will get a big donation and drinks are on me. John

If you are dying are you going to check first to see if the facility will or won't take ChampVA. The law/regs say facility that accepts assignment of medicare must accept ChampVA. I don't have the law right in front of me, but I have read it before since my wife has ChampVA. Damn VA makes me sick quibbling over things like this when a vet's life is at stake. Now I wonder if your spouse has ChampVA and is using the VA for her care does she have same rights to ER as does a vet? If she goes to ER and tells them she has ChampVA would she be able to get transfer to VA hospital. If all she/he has is ChampVA then she will get billed for what ChampVA does not pay.

What is the difference between ALS and Huntington's disease? Can a DNA check show if you are going to get it or not? It must be quite rare for the VA to just make it presumptive without a 30 year battle. After the VA made Parkinson's and IHD presumptive for AO I think they felt that was a bridge too far. Pretty soon they might come to the conclusion that AO is bad for you, and might cause many, many other problems and all cancers. They may wait until there are five Vietnam vets left alive to do that one around the year 2050. John

I used the Statement in Support to get support statements from my wife and brother as to what they saw of my symptoms. It did not help that much, but the VA listed it. The letter from my private doctor is what got me over. That is medical evidence. I was asking for an increase so I did not have to establish SC, but to show it was worse. With a notary you are just signing in presence of some guy/gal that has a stamp and paid a fee to get it. In Florida a signed statement with two witness can top a notarized statement. Evidence and a vet's statement can be sort of equal if the vet is a combat vet and swears that this or that happened to him in combat. If he has a CIB or CAB it would help a lot, but the VA often wants hard evidence from documented source. A vet could swear he was shot in the arm and have a scar but the VA is not going to believe it unless he has a PH or medical evidence to support it. They just feel and believe that all vets are liars and after easy money. John

Anything good that comes from the VA without a fight, and water boarding (IET's) would come as a surprise to me. I have always had to fight for every little thing with my VA. I have to ask. They never offer unless it is some game to get me off the opiate program. They offer to let me sit in the VA hospital for six weeks to get off dope they got me hooked on after about 8 years of prescribing morphine, methadone, oxycodone and finally Fentanyl patch. I don't have much of a life, but I do have a little left without in-patient pain program.

Yes, otherwise it will sit there for a year doing nothing. I waited many months in FDC getting a notice that the VA was waiting for 5103 waiver to be returned. I never got the waiver from the VA. I made sworn statements that I had no more evidence. It took 14 months to get an extra 10% on my DMII.

I think you should be able to get supplement to ChampVA for less than $250 a month. I think Retired NCO Association offers much cheaper rate. I don't know how good it is.

I am afraid unless I was dying hospitals here in Florida would turn me away unless I have medicare,, medicade, or insurance. That is the first question they ask at the ER...."What is your insurance?". A hospital put a lien on my wife's old home due to medical bills as result of being half killed by drunk driver. Medicare A & B is the best deal in town. However, Part D is sad joke with doughnut hole and all that. So I keep expensive Blue Cross just for pills and because I earned it as a benefit from being a government worker at USPS/Hell for many years. Fishburger of the year goes to the VA for being cheap, miserable bastards. They want my old CPAP back because I had operation to cure apnea. They should have paid for the operation, but they did not even know it existed. I know more about Inspire device than their sleep clinic or pulmonology dept. It is cutting edge so you would expect VA to be in the dark (ages).

If I have serious health issues I would use Tricare and medicare with the best doctors in the area rather than depend on the VA just because you can get free care. Your job now is to stay alive for as long as possible for your spouse's sake. I use the VA for the most routine issues. Never for anything serious because they are not serious about my health. Four years to get dependency correct! They deserve the fish in the face award. I got SMC only by filing for it, and VA called CUE on themselves. If I did not read Hadit I never would have gotten housebound SMC. If something seems "fishy" about your benefits or claim then it probably is fishy. John

If he got his injuries due to combat related factors then it should help him. As far as the cyst if the VA doctor or VA hospital knew he had a cyst pushing against his brain or should have known that would be malpractice. I think 1151 claims are for when VA care causes a disability to get worse or results in a new injury. For instance, to cure a hernia they cause damage to one of your internal organs that might be a 1151 or a malpractice claim. You have to prove all this of course. If you got for an ear exam and the doctor misses that you have hearing loss due to some tumor about blow up in your brain then that is malpractice IMO. John

I am getting Fee Base for dental right now, but I have no card from the VA. Somebody is going to get hit with a Fish!!! My fee base dentist was paid for an exam, but no treatment so far. I don't think the VA intends to give me the treatment's the Fee Base dentist recommended. John