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timetowinarace

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Posts posted by timetowinarace

  1. Yes, the doctor needed to say at least as likely as not.

    I'm assuming you must have something in you records that show a possible head injury, as Berta asked. The VARO doesn't like to schedual C&P's unless there is already something in your records.

  2. Actually the answer is yes. It is POSSIBLE.

    Unlikely but possible.

    LOL. This topic comes up from time to time. There is always disagreement.

    The yes camp provides that the LAW (US code) says anyone that can overcome their disability can work and recieve comp, it does not distiguish between physical and mental.

    The no camp sticks to the rating criteria witch is based on the AVERAGE person with the disability.

    Since there are 100% PTSD vets working I'm going to stick to the yes camp. But it's unlikely.

  3. I thought the issue was VA employees taking leftover items at a standdown.

    The real issue is accountability, as is always the case with the VA.

    I can be as mad about it as I want. Or, I can do something to change it.

    Get the media involved? Nah, that don't work.

    Get elected officials involved? Nah, that don't work.

    Law suit? Yeah right.

    Veterans comming together in Washington en mass? Could work. But no, we'd rather keep writing letters for another twenty years.

  4. I think the VA is turning out more/faster claims than in the past. But I think this is comming from the fresh pool of returning veterans that are getting quicker diagnoses. Some of them are getting some VA run around, but some are not.

    The older veterans are getting more run around because of the way PTSD was viewed in the past. Also, there is the slow admission that AO has caused so many problems. Gulf War Illness will(is) follow the same path. How many years has it been now? It's been almost a year since GWSyndrome became an official Illness. Yet there is no rating for it. Then there will be simular problems for the current conflict when it is no longer current. VA will deny as much as possible when the wars are over.

    I was not going to comment in this thread because it is complaining without doing anything about it. Complain to the media all you want. Complain to your elected officials all you want. This has been done for years now. Little to nothing has changed. What's that cute little quote people like to use? The definition of (insert correct word here) is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

    So, why not line up the veterans (or someone to represent them) from Washington to where-ever the the line ends and measure it? Use real people, real vets. Get DIFFERENT results.

    No? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

  5. Um, I think you need to know what DX code you were rated under. It will be listed when you get your paperwork.

    Two things here that stand out, the DX code and the rating without a C&P.

    While it may be easier for a rater to apply a rating to DC9304-Dementia due to trauma it is more benificial to the veteran to have the proper DC8045. There are many reasons for this of wich I won't get into here. I suspect you will have gotten the 8045 rating, otherwise you would need two ratings. One for 9304 for cognative dissorder and one 8045 for residuals because 9304 does not address other tbi residuals(one of the reasons to apply the proper dx code).

    The reason a C&P is important is mostly because TBI claims are complicated. Especially the cognative issues. For one, a severity must be assigned to each facet of the regs, I believe there are ten of them. Each facet covers certain possible residuals. I beleive a medical profesionals opinion is needed on each of these facets for a proper rating. The biggest problem is the cognative facet. If full neuro_cognative testing has been performed, the results of that testing are complicated as well. While an area or two may report mild or moderate functional impairment, the whole picture may be quite different. If a rater assigns a rating based on the test results, of wich a rater is not qualified to interpret them, the whole picture of the full test results is not likely to be seen. I can only give my own example. My memory tested normal, other portions were measured at moderate such as executive functioning. Though my memory tested as normal, I can't remember chit. I was found 'not competent' from VA because the examiner stated "he might forget to pay his bills". My memory is bad because some information is never stored to begin with. The point is, if a rater had tried to interpret these results my memory would likely have gotten a 0% as the tests say "normal". I might have gotten 40% for my 'moderate' impairment in some areas. Since I was evaluated by a psychiatrist that read the full test scores and understands the relationship between all the aspects, not only is my memory not 'normal' his opinion is my memory is too poor to handle my own money.

    Okay, now that I said all that, I agree with James. Get a C&P. LOL.

    A note for James: I think if a proper TBI C&P is done it makes it considerably easier on the rater. The examiner must(should) give a level of impairment for each facet. Then the rater need only use the highest level facet, assign the rating that equals the level and the rest of the facets are ignored. Complications may arise when psycholigical or other residuals(such as migraine) require a seperate evaluation and rating. A rater should not have to read the test results and is not likely to understand the full implications of the scores for each area.

  6. rwkirk,

    Apparently you were rated for TBI prior to the changes made to

    Diagnostic Code 8045, in Oct 2008.

    This new rating criteria is more adventageous for the veteran.

    You posted you recieve 10 % SC for the plate in your head.

    Do you know what Diagnostic Code that is rated under ?

    carlie

    I don't know for sure but I'd think one of the 10% ratings has to be under 8045. Otherwise, I don't think he would have recieved the letter.(I don't have a 8045 rating and never recieved the letter) It could be either one as headaches were rated as residuals of tbi and not seperatley before, so probably the headaches.

  7. Well, the time frame for decisions is slooowwwww with the current backlog, so that is normal.

    bigoc and Carlie asked valid questions.

    I don't know of anyone personally(or on this board) that has been re-evaluated and re-rated with an increase from the new regs yet. I would suggest reading up on TBI residuals(symptoms) to see what fits your situation. Compare your symptoms to the rating criteria so you'll know if you get a fair rating when you do get it. There is allot of information in this forum and links to more resources. Just read through the past posts.

  8. Yep, the tests can be stressfull. They are important though. I'm glad to hear you are being fully evaluated. The next step should be a treatment plan when your test results come back. I don't know wich VA facility your at but some are better than others. You might want to go to the AVBI forum and read about others experiences at different facilities or start a thread and ask about yours. They are very knowledgable about treatment options and VA programs that the VA doesn't fully disclose for TBI.

    Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress.

    Have you filed a claim for benifits yet? I think it's time to do so.

  9. Wings, youe correct. It was likely H1N1. The CDC says almost all cases of confirmed flu are swine flu. That is why for most people I beleive the vaccinations will be too little too late. No point in me getting one. I'm sure I've been exposed.

    From the CDC

    http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm

    2009 H1N1 Flu: Situation Update

    October 09, 2009, 4:00 PM ET

    U.S. Situation Update

    Weekly Flu Activity Estimates

    U.S. Patient Visits Reported for Influenza-like Illness (ILI)

    U.S. Influenza-like Illness (ILI) Reported by Regions

    U.S. Influenza and Pneumonia-Associated Hospitalizations and Deaths from August 30

    to September 5, 2009

    International

    Situation Update

    Map of International

    Activity Estimates

    (Including 2009 H1N1 Flu)

    Key Flu Indicators

    Each week CDC analyzes information about influenza disease activity in the United States and publishes findings of key flu indicators in a report called FluView. During the week of September 27 - October 3, 2009, a review of the key indictors found that influenza activity increased in the United States. Below is a summary of the most recent key indicators:

    •Visits to doctors for influenza-like illness (ILI) continued to increase in the United States, and overall, are higher than levels expected for this time of the year.

    •Total influenza hospitalization rates for laboratory-confirmed influenza are higher than expected for this time of year for adults and children. And for children 5-17 and adults 18-49 years of age, hospitalization rates from April – October 2009 exceed average flu season rates (for October through April).

    •The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) based on the 122 Cities Report has increased and now exceeds what is normally expected at this time of year. In addition, 19 flu-related pediatric deaths were reported this week; 16 of these deaths were confirmed 2009 H1N1 and 3 were unsubtyped influenza A and likely to be 2009 H1N1. A total of 76 laboratory confirmed 2009 H1N1 pediatric deaths have been reported to CDC since April.

    •Thirty-seven states are reporting widespread influenza activity at this time. They are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. Any reports of widespread influenza activity in September and October are very unusual.

    •Almost all of the influenza viruses identified so far are 2009 H1N1 influenza A viruses. These viruses remain similar to the virus chosen for the 2009 H1N1 vaccine, and remain susceptible to the antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir with rare exception.

  10. This is not the first time H1N1 has been in this country. It has been here twice before. In 1950something and 1977 I believe. That is why it is more dangerous to the young than the old. Most of us have been exposed already.

    there are many strains of flu circulating right now. Any of them could mutate into something more deadly. There is no way to predict, thus vaccinate for the next deadly disease. Healthy people would be wise to keep there immune system natrual, my opinion.

    For the rest of our lives, just as our ancesters, illness will come and kill people, maybe me. No need to live in fear of what might happen.

  11. I don't know that the vaccine is harmfull. But, I do know swine flu is already making it's way through my community and likewize in most states. Chances are I have already been exposed to it. Chances are the majority of this population will have had it or been exposed before mass vaccinations begin later this month. I see no reason to be vaccinated for something I've allready been exposed to or have gotten. I did have flu symtoms last week. I lived. I'm thinking I'll be okay without the shot.

  12. It would seem that is the reason they respond to 1.4 million requests. 700,000 thousand initial requests, then 700,000 follow up requests to get the rest of the file.

    I can see where this policy saves them time and money. NOT!

    Current policy:

    1. Recieve request for personell records.

    2. Find the records.

    3. search through records and seperate them.

    4. Copy some records.

    5. Send the copied records

    6. Recive request for more records

    7. Look for records and find they have been misplaced after the first request.

    8. find records

    9. discover uncopied records are missing

    10. find missing records in someone else's file

    11. seperate copied records from uncopied records

    12. copy uncopied records

    13. send records that had already been sent the first time.

    14. recieve complaint of veteran recieving the same records as before

    15. find correct copies

    16. send most of the correct copies plus a few of someone else's records

    17. get request for the rest of the copies

    18. repeat steps 7 through 15

    19. send final copies

    20. misplace file into 3 seperate files.

    The time consuming and costly method:

    1. recieve request for file.

    2. find file

    3. copy file

    4. send file

    5. put file back where it goes.

  13. Berta,

    You know much more about this stuff than I do so I have a question. If the VA has already confirmed asbestos in this veterans case why reconfirm it? My take was that the nexus was not given between the respiratory illness's and the asbestos exposure by any doctors. In other words, since the exposure is confirmed and the conditions exist in the veteran, all he needs is a nexus statement by a doc. Or am I missing something?

    The other exposures need the confirmation of exposure wich I believe the veteran is trying to prove with the mentioned 50 pages but also nexus statements linking those exposures to the medical conditions is missing.

    Just my thoughts. There are too many subjects in this one thread though.

  14. I'm sorry you have the TBI but I'm happy to hear things are progressing well for you as far as diagnoses.

    Are you married? If not is there someone going to the VA with you or will help?

    I've had a hard time advocating for myself and it was very difficult to get my thoughts across to doctor and such. For TBI veterans it is much more important that we have someone looking out for us. The VA can try to skip out on some possible treatments that may help and sometimes will not evaluate fully. It helps to have an extra set of ears around when dealing with them. The fact that you had not been screened untill now kinda confirms that.

  15. I copied this post from the American Veterans with Brian Injuries(AVBI) forum with permision from the author and founder of the orginization, Cheryl. She tried to post it here herself but it didn't go through for some reason. I hope it helps someone here.

    ________________________________________________________________________________

    _____

    I figured it was about time I posted something on here in hopes to clear up some of the questions posed to me via email. In another words; I want to set the records straight on a few issues and hope it may help some of you understand some of differences of the terms and diagnosis codes.

    To explain the differences I’d like to give you some simplistic explanations. Please know that I am not a doctor or a medical professional and the medical community, as a whole, has not adopted this understanding. However there are some people working at getting appropriate or standardized terminology used with-in the DoD and VA. I’m providing this information in layman’s terms to hopefully create a little more understanding amongst the vast confusion of terminology (verbiage) that is showing up in some veteran’s medical documents.

    1. There has been much discussion (and confusion) about the differences between being diagnosed with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) aka Post Concussive Syndrome (PCS).

    The lasting effects of both can be devastating and both are an injury to the brain, but they are not one in the same. Because most doctors themselves do not know how the VBA works (shoot the VBA themselves don’t know sometimes) these diagnosis are often confused by doctors and not rated appropriately by the VBA. It is part of the reason, many of us fought so hard to have the CFR Schedule of Ratings for brain injury changed. You’ll notice the new rating schedule evaluates on residuals vs. just the initial injury, as it was done in the past.

    Post-concussion syndrome, also known PCS, and historically called shell shock, is a set of symptoms that a person may experience for weeks, months, or occasionally years after a concussion–it is a mild form of traumatic brain injury (MTBI). If a person has been exposed to blast(s), had their bell rung, banged their head, had a hard landing, etc. and possibly been knocked unconscious for a short period of time (a few minutes), they have most likely suffered a concussion (aka a mild brain injury). Most will recover from a concussion without any residuals, BUT if the residual effects continue for more than 3 months a post concussive syndrome (PCS) diagnosis should be assigned, and if those residual symptoms last longer than 1 year it becomes Persistent Post Concussive Syndrome (PPCS).

    Rarely does a concussion result in physical evidence, in other words; it is not uncommon for an MRI or CAT scan to not show the injury, but please understand the residual symptoms and impairments are real. The verity of symptoms include: physical (such as headache or tremors); cognitive (such as difficulty concentrating and memory loss); and emotional and behavioral (such as irritability and anxiety). There is also a host of non- descript symptoms like; fatigue, syncope, sleep difficulties, etc.

    Many of the symptoms in PCS are common to, or exacerbated by, other disorders, and there is a high risk of misdiagnosis when that happens. Although there is no treatment for PCS itself, symptoms can be treated; medications and physical and behavioral therapy may be used, and patients can be educated about symptoms, taught ways to adapt, and advised of the usual prognosis. The majority of PCS cases disappear after a period of time, however in some cases these symptoms will continue, get worse, or reappear as the brain ages. This is a strong concern with those who may have been exposed to blasts as no one currently knows what the future holds for the residual effects of that exposure or initial injury. It is also the reason; that if a veteran did suffer a concussion or blast exposure it should be documented in the records.

    It is not known what causes PCS symptoms to occur and persist, or why some people who suffer a concussion develop PCS while others do not. The nature of the syndrome and the diagnosis itself, have been the subject of intense debate, particularly in recent years with the high incidents or potential of blast injuries. However, certain risk factors have been identified; for example, co-existing medical or psychological conditions, repetitive concussions or blast(s) exposure, expectations of disability, and age, all increase the chances that someone will suffer with the persistent symptoms (PPCS). Physiological and psychological factors present before, during, and after the injury are all thought to be involved in the development of PCS / PPCS.

    A moderate - severe TBI or an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) can normally be associated to a single incident, illness, loss of oxygen, or a multitude of incidents (concussions); it is commonly followed by a prolonged loss of consciousness or coma. There is also commonly physical evidence of the injury, in other words the injury or damaged areas can normally be seen on a MRI or a CAT scan. One would think that this type of brain injury is easily or always diagnosed, but this too can be overlooked especially if the injury is compounded by other life threatening injuries that demand immediate treatment.

    The results of a moderate-severe TBI are commonly devastating (physically, cognitively and emotionally) and the physical injury to the brain is permanent. Some will rehabilitate and regain some of what was lost, due to the injury; but most will suffer with life long impairments.

    2. There is also a lot of confusion between TBI and PTSD.

    Let it first be understood that one can suffer from PTSD with out having a brain injury, and one can suffer a brain injury without having PTSD or one can suffer with both. But with that said; most of the confusion is because the symptoms or residual effects, of both, have many parallels. Also recent research has shown that in some cases of PTSD, the chemistry of the brain changes and therefore can create a secondary injury.

    Since, to date, there are no clear cut tests that can be given to distinguish between PCS or TBI and PTSD many physicians want to just slap one or two Dx codes on a person’s record. Even worse, is there are many physicians who want to treat them the same. Many physicians will disagree with me, but the symptoms should not be clumped together and treatment for each is NOT the same! For example; there are some medications that will help treat the symptoms of both however there are other medications that may treat one and exacerbate the other.

    The only known way to separate some of the residual symptoms is to have full and thorough neuro-psychological testing, but even this may not give a clear cut diagnosis. This type of testing is used to distinguish and identify the areas of difficulty and there for provide appropriate treatment and/or therapy.

    The most important thing is to get a proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Don’t think, for one minute, that if you (or someone you love) suffers from any of the difficulties associated with PCS, TBI or PTSD, that your going to wake up one morning and everything will be fine……

    No one knows how much recovery a person will have, but if you do nothing, chances are, it will get worse!

    Please post your questions in this thread or visit the following web sites for additional information;

    PCS

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/post-c ... me/DS01020

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-concussion_syndrome

    TBI

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traumatic_brain_injury

    http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tbi/tbi.htm

    PTSD

    http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/p ... ndex.shtml

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posttrauma ... s_disorderCheryl

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  16. Wings, I understand your point and don't disagree. However, I would have to read through the 8045 rating facets as each facet has it's own criteria, some of wich may include employment issues. This C&P seems to have been done directly the way tbi C&P's are supposed to, or 'by the book' with the exception of defering an opinion on the memory ect issues to the objective testing.

    In my opinion, the examiner should have studied the test results and gave an opinion herself. I think this will turn out to be the bigger issue.

  17. Yep, what Larry said.

    Also, the neurologist probably won't comment about any relationship between a possible learning disability and current cognative problems. It's not their area of expertise. You'll have to talk to a psychologist, psychiatrist or preferably a neuropsychologist. But look at the C&P first.

  18. x

    x

    x

    Time, Thanks for that note to me. Since the veteran reports anxiety and depression, and you rightly suggest a separate C&P Exam for Mental Disorders; wouldn't this C&P Examiner have been required to submit a GAF score? Also, she did not comment on 'occupational impairment'? Is the veteran working? ~Wings

    No problem.

    Well, my opinon on the GAF would be no, the examiner would not be required to submit a GAF. The reason is the examiner was assesing(or should have been) cognative dissorder and other residuals wich is not a mental or mood dissorder. The examiner was not and did not examin the veteran for depression and anxiaty but made note of it in the exam. A GAF would be appropiate for a mental condition but is not suitable for a cognative dissorder because a person can have cognative issue and be quite happy(most of us know someone that is quite cognatively challeged that allways have a smile on their face).

    What is supposed to happen by the 8045 code is if the RO has a report of mood disorder due to tbi, a C&P must be ordered and a seperate rating assigned. A GAF would be assigned at this time.

    I think the veteran is working(I'm not positive). If the veteran is working, of course there will be no opinion from the examiner whether or not he's employable.

    I hope that answers your questions.

  19. Do you have a copy of the C&P?

    From my non expert opinion, you've been SC despite the examiners statement of "less likely as not" which is somewhat rare.

    There seems to be a contradiction though, because they also state "The examiner's opinion had minimum probative value since it was predicated on a singular report of a learning disability at age 13". I'm guessing because I havn't seen the exam report but it seems the examiner must have felt your cognative issues are more than "mild" as the RO states.

    Have you filed your NOD yet? You will get a better rating if you fight this one. You will have to force them to disregard the possible learning disability at age 13. I'm not sure how to go about it though. My thoughts are that if you took the entrance exam before enlistment and passed enough to be admitted into service it should be proof you did not have a signifacant cognative dissorder at entry.

  20. Okay, main part the rater is going to look at, other than the SC wich she seems to have made clear, is this.

    "I. Memory, attention, concentration, and executive functions; see objective evidence of memory impairment.

    II: Judgement. A. Normal.

    III: Social interaction. A. Appropriate.

    IV: Orientation. A. Always oriented.

    V: Motor activity. A. Normal.

    VI: Visual and spacial orientation. C. Moderate impaired.

    VII: Subjective symptoms. B. Three or more.

    VIII: Neurobehavioral affects. B. One or more.

    IX: Communication. A. Able to communicate.

    X: Consciousness. A. Normal.

    IMPRESSION: The Veteran with traumatic brain injury. He has the capacity to handle his VA benefit payments:"

    The highest facet she gave was on VI: Visual and spacial orientation. "C. Moderate impaired." C would equal a 2 or 40% I posted the guide for this below. Also from the rating criteria "For example, assign a 70 percent evaluation if 3 is the highest level of evaluation for any facet". So, you should get a minimum rating of 40% under 8045.

    Visual spatial orientation 0 Normal.

    1 Mildly impaired. Occasionally gets lost in unfamiliar surroundings, has difficulty reading maps or following directions. Is able to use assistive devices such as GPS (global positioning system).

    2 Moderately impaired. Usually gets lost in unfamiliar surroundings, has difficulty reading maps, following directions, and judging distance. Has difficulty using assistive devices such as GPS (global positioning system).

    3 Moderately severely impaired. Gets lost even in familiar surroundings, unable to use assistive devices such as GPS (global positioning system).

    Total Severely impaired. May be unable to touch or name own body parts when asked by the examiner, identify the relative position in space of two different objects, or find the way from one room to another in a familiar environment.

    Subjective symptoms 0 Subjective symptoms that do not interfere with work; instrumental activities of daily living; or work, family, or other close relationships. Examples are: mild or occasional headaches, mild anxiety.

    The only 'problem' I see with your exam report is that she leaves number one open to the raters interpretation. "I. Memory, attention, concentration, and executive functions; see objective evidence of memory impairment." So when she said it was up to the rater as to your percentage she meant it literally. She refered the rater to the neurocognative testing rather than assigning a level of impairment herself. The problem is, raters are not neuro-psychologists and cannot interpret these tests. That said, it may work out, you will have to wait and see.

    The news is, I can't imagine you getting less than 40% by this C&P alone. But, I'm not a rater. I don't know what you think your percentage should be but it will have to come from the first facet that the examiner left up to the rater. I think you could NOD based on the fact the rater did not have an opinion from the examiner on the memory facet to base a rating on.

    Also, you should get a seperate rating for migraines. All the information, the DX and severity for migraines is in this report.

    Yep, I have more. The examiner stated you complained of depression and anxiaty. If you are rated for tbi without a C&P for these issues and not given a seperate rating for them, you need to file a claim with the effective date as the day RO recieved this exam.

    And a note for Wings. The C&P eximiner designation of a mild tbi for the first accident and moderate tbi for the second is a desgnation for the "type" of tbi and is useless for rating purposes. From the regs;

    Note (4): The terms “mild,” “moderate,” and “severe” TBI, which may appear in medical records, refer to a classification of TBI made at, or close to, the time of injury rather than to the current level of functioning. This classification does not affect the rating assigned under diagnostic code 8045.

  21. So Carlie, you're saying that the mood disorder rating is included in the PTSD rating, am I understanding you correctly?

    Yes, I have diagnoses for MDD, Anxiaty and Dementia, all SC for TBI and I have one rating under the ratings for mental.

    I'm rated under old law so I have the dementia rating for cognative dissorder because this was not included in the old 8045 code.

    Under the new law I would have a rating under 8045 that includes the cognative disorder and a seperate rating for the MDD and Anxiaty. I would have another rating for migraines from the tbi.

  22. Yes, I read the decision and the highest facet was "2" which equals the 40% rating, and that was assigned for memory, attention, concentration, executive functions facet. A "3" would be moderate impairment vs. the "2" which is for mild impairment. With a GAF of 51, this means "moderate symptoms and difficulty, not mild, does it not? And, it's at the lowest end of the scale in that grouping.

    The Neurobehavioral effects facet was "0," and I'd like to know how these are measured. Is there a computerized test along with the clinical interview? Is it entirely an interview? There's no discussion in the rating decision of the means or mechanism through which these results were reached.

    I think we should pursue a separate rating for mood disorder, from the sound of things.

    Well, he already has a rating for PTSD doesnt he? If so, I don't believe it would help much to pursue an additional mood disorder. It would amount to an increase in the PTSD rating.

    These can be measured through interview but not accurately. The only way to know where they came to their decision about the facets is to read the C&P. There are tests that can be administered but it's been my experience that they often are not and the rating is based on subjective reports(from the veteran) rather than giving the tests and rating on objective tests. So we need to know what the C&P consisted of and also his medical history before the C&P.

    In my opinion, it will be very difficult to get a higher than 40% rating under 8045 without full neuro-psychological testing. If he has had the testing the C&P should have considered the results. If he has not had the testing, I strongly reccomend he get it.

    Also, I'd like to thank you for trying to help this veteran. It should be obvious but is often overlooked that just the fact that this person has some amount of brain damage results in us tbi people needing more help than most. The self advocating theory that this board seems to feel is most important leaves us fighting for ourselves with damaged goods. Sometimes the veteran is not his own best advocate.

    PS. GAF has nothing to do with cognative disfunction.

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