gtdac

broncovet, yes I did receive the VARO decision. I will probably submit a reconsideration and state that they did not provide utilize the evidence provided as it related to my claim. Thanks again, Glen.

Vync, thanks for your response. I was informed that I should do a reconsideration and state the information that you provided above. Thanks again, Glen.

Hello everyone,I am currently rated 90% due to a plethora of issues (ugh). However, I have one rating of 60% for Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) which is a result of mixed connective tissue disease. Recently I filed a claim for an increase for ILD due to the usage of outpatient oxygen therapy and also for sleep apnea as a secondary to ILD. Long story short, the claim closed two-weeks ago and I was granted service connection for the sleep apnea as a secondary to ILD (but I will receive the 60% for the ILD because it's the higher of the two and pyramiding is not allowed). Additionally, the rating did not list any reference to the usage of outpatient oxygen therapy. How do I go back and ask for this to be readdressed? If I missed something that may be deemed important, I apologize in advance.r,Glen

GP, Thanks for the reply. However, the Doc in question is my pulmonary doc and his office also conducted the sleep study. He said that it's not his responsibility to make a determination if the OSA is secondary to my SC lung condition. He feels adamant that the responsibility lie with the VA. He stated that he only has to provide medical evidence reflecting that I have a lung condition (which is already SC'd) and that I've been diagnosed with OSA. R, Glen

I have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and issued a CPAP machine. However, the prescribing doctor is not willing to say one way or the other on the DBQ if the sleep apnea is attributed to my current SC lung condition. What is the best way to move forward? Help! Glen

Dav_Marine72, I am not getting SSDI... However, my primary care doc (Private Doc) also completed the DBQ for Migraines and he also stated that migraines impair my ability to work at substantial employment... Thanks for responding, Glen

Well just completed my last IU C&Ps (for now). I have looked reviewed all the exams except for my hearing, which has not posted in MHV yet. As I look over the C&P exam I noticed the following: 1. Flatfoot - Functional Impact...Does the vet condition impact his or her ability to work? YES 2. Mixed Connective Tissue Disease (arthritic knees)...Functional Impact...Does the vet condition impact his or her ability to work? YES 3. Headaches (Migraines)...Functional Impact...Does the vet condition impact his or her ability to work? YES 4. Respiratory Condiiton (Mixed Connective Tissue Disease: Intertistial Restrictive Lung Disease)...Functional Impact...Does the vet condition impact his or her ability to work? YES However under the final comments in regards to IU the doc wrote: The vet is unlikely to be able to do a significantly physically demanding job mainly becasue of his SC lungs & knee problems, however he is libkely to be able to do mild & sedentary type of employment. Does this statement conflict with his above comments? How would raters looks at this in regards to IU? Thanks, Glen

Team, This process that began in Aug of 12 is finally complete (according to ebennies)... I will hold comments until the BBE gets here... I can almost say, it's my turn... Thanks for all the post and encouragement along the way, it was needed more than I knew. ~gdc

Congrats! Good to see the big VA machine continue to churn completed claims... ~gdc

Congrats! It good to see the VA machine is still moving...

Team, My BDD saga continues. After countless discussions with Peggy and a very long lack of movement (7-months under review), my package has finally moved from Under Review to Gathering of Evidence. The only thing now is they pushed my completion date back to Oct 14 vice Nov 13 - Apr 14 (hopefully that's not true)... I hear that once the ball starts rolling they process moves quicker... We will see... Keeping the faith, Glen

Mike, congrats bro... Happy Veterans Day 2 u 2... Glen

@Meghp0405, I had a brain-fart earlier...I was thinking congress and budget and I typed "backlog is over"... I agree with you the backlog is far from over...

@Carlie, hopefully this is done sooner rather than later... @meghp0405, I filed for 15 contentions (all with appropriate evidence)... All my physicals (C&Ps), audiology exam, and additional xrays were completed Sep-Oct 2012 which was several months before I officially retired. I understand the backlog and the intricate process so I don't whine about what's going on...I just like receiving accurate information. Right now, I don't have a "warm fuzzy" since they rep could not tell me which RO was processing my package... However, I will call back later this week since the backlog is over to see if they have any additional information. Thanks for the responses, Glen

Team, Update to the Update to the Update of my BDD process... Talked with Peggy on Thursday, got thru pretty quick. The person assisting me informed me of the following: 1. My BDD claim is complex... 2. My BDD claim has been assigned to another RO (didn't specifiy... he mentioned BDD national???) as of 4 Oct to be "Fast Tracked" since their "suspense date" has been busted. The person assisting me say this was a good thing...we will see! 3. My BDD claim is now a "priority claim" (to be handled as quick as possible... lol...). What does priority claim mean??? 4. eBennies is not accurate... lol... :-) That's all for now... Glen

Congrats! It's good to see the big VA machine still limping along... :-)

Congrats! It's certainly good to hear that the big VA machine is still rolling!

Congrats again! Way to keep pushing in spite of... Encouraged to see the big VA machine taking care of Vets! Glen

Great news! Congrats! Good to see the movement in the VA system...

Congrats! I love to see the big machine move along... There is hope for the rest of us... Lol

Team, Is there a way to review the results of the C&P exams online? Thanks in advance, ​Glen

Congrats!

Team, I mentioned that I contacted Peggy last week and she placed an IRIS inquiry. Here is the VA's reply (in short, hurry up and wait): Dear Mr. Collins: Our records show your claim for service-connected compensation disability compensation benefits is open and we are working hard to complete your claim as soon as possible. The Salt Lake City VA Regional Office is aggressively implementing a nationwide VA special initiative to quickly decide the oldest claims in the inventory. This initiative will accelerate the elimination of the backlog for these Veterans and is part of VA’s overall strategy to eliminate the claims backlog in 2015. VA has directed its regional offices to provide provisional decisions to Veterans who have been waiting the longest, which will allow Veterans to begin collecting compensation benefits immediately, if eligible. These provisional decisions will be based on the evidence already available to VA and the Veteran will be given additional time to submit evidence or request further assistance from VA. The claims that are considered “ready-to-rate” will be given final decisions. In all cases, VA will continue to make sure that applicable service personnel and treatment records are available and that VA examination results are obtained if required. While engaged in this special initiative, VA will continue to prioritize Veterans who are homeless, terminally ill, former Prisoners of War, and Medal of Honor recipients, those facing financial hardship and our most seriously injured in addition to Fully Developed Claims. To support this special initiative and increase the production of VA compensation claims decisions, VA is exercising its option to mandate overtime for VA employees who process disability claims to work a minimum of 20 hours of overtime a month through the end of Fiscal Year 2013. The additional overtime hours that will be worked during this period of mandatory overtime will be used to help eliminate the backlog. The emphasis will be on backlogged claims, high-priority claims like Fully Developed Claims (FDC), special-interest claims (homeless, hardship, former prisoner of war, terminal, etc.), and claims older than one year. A thorough review of your file will be conducted to ascertain whether or not additional information/evidence is needed, if anything additional is needed you will be contacted. Once all the evidence needed to support your claim has been received, the claim will be forwarded for decision. During this phase of the claims process (the Decision Phase), a representative will review all the submitted evidence and will make a determination as to any eligibility to VA benefits, based on that evidence. Once a decision is made, the claim will be forwarded for final review, where the decision will be reviewed for accuracy. If the decision is approved, you will receive written notification of the decision via U.S. mail. If additional action is needed to complete the claim, it will be forwarded to the applicable department for attention, and then returned for decision once the appropriate action has been taken. It is important to note, the length of time it takes to complete an individual claim depends on several factors, such as the type of claim filed, complexity of your disabilities, the number of disabilities you claim, and the availability of evidence. Will get there soon enough! Glen

Congrats. Will be there soon!

Congrats...