noelmc

This is a big thank you to everyone on this site. If it wasn't for the great people on this board this would never have happened. THANK YOU,THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Especially Pete and Berta. My husband was notified that he was awarded 100% P & T. He received the letter after he had given up. All of his appeals had been denied and he did not have the energy to keep going. Then six months after his last denial he received the letter. He also received a letter from the Veterans service Center Manager that states "The records of the Department of Veterans Affairs disclose that ----- is currently in receipt of 100% service connected disability compensation of 0000.00 per mponth effective 2/23/2007." Is this the normal letter that everyone receives to use for benefits? Does every letter have the monetary award stated in this letter for everyone to see? Thank you Noel's wife

This is a big thank you to everyone on this site. If it wasn't for the great people on this board this would never have happened. THANK YOU,THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Especially Pete and Berta. My husband was notified that he was awarded 100% P & T. He received the letter after he had given up. All of his appeals had been denied and he did not have the energy to keep going. Then six months after his last denial he received the letter. He also received a letter from the Veterans service Center Manager that states "The records of the Department of Veterans Affairs disclose that ----- is currently in receipt of 100% service connected disability compensation of 0000.00 per mponth effective 2/23/2007." Is this the normal letter that everyone receives to use for benefits? Does every letter have the monetary award stated in this letter for everyone to see? Thank you Noel's wife

Thank you to Berta and Carlie. We have a Dr.'s appointment tomorrow. The Dr. said he would write letter for the C& P but never did. I am attempting to write a letter with his apinion so he just has to sign it and we can send it in with the appeal. Thanks again

Berta, Would you be willing to look at an IMO to see if it contains "all the right moves" ? If you will could we do it off the forum because of all the private information. Thanks

Berta, I've been searching for the directions to fill out the first page of form 9 for quite a few hours today. Do you have any hints to enter under the search? Thanks

Berta, Thanks for the TDIU form. It's already printed and will be filled out immediately. Do we send the form in with the va FORM 9 REQUESTING A HEARING? SSA: He applied on the net and received ssd first try with only one telphone call lasting 10min. ( was within 1 month of the 5 year rule) We applied after learning the info from this board. What is a Blue rating sheet? (I don't understand what adding a page under #25 is about. I can't figure out how to highlight what you wrote. He can add separate page under # 25 and tell them to refer to it- and then tell VA of any other disabilties he has that could be due to service and also how his medications affect his ability to work- such as the side affects etc) Thanks again

Berta, I have a BVA case that ordered sc for non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy with congestive heart failure as secondary to Type ii diabetes . (which is what my husband has) Is this better than a remand? Can we use this in our appeal or hearing? If we can; do we need a Dr.'s opinion also? In the Bva case 2 Dr's opined that there is a causal relationship between non-ischemic cardiomyopathy and DMII. They cited current medical reseach from the ACC and the AHA. Next question: We are wondering about when to file for TDIU. My husband was unable to do his job 5 years ago and had to retire early. Can we request a hearing and file for TDIU? We were thinking it would be best to get his heart condition sc'd because for many diabetics that is one of the main causes of death. If it is not sc'd there would be no DIC, correct? Thank you for all of your help. This is one very confusing, overwhelming, picky, detailed oriented process. I was very down in the dumps when we got the last denial, but I'm beginning to get mad and learn how to work with their system. Noel's bride

I was able to locate the heart traing letter. Hopefully it is attached. heart_training_lettert.doc

Berta, I am trying to send you a personal e-mail and have been unsuccessful. I get a message that you have messages blocked. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks, Noelmc

One more question. Does anyone know if there is a cardiac (heart disease) training letter?

Ibasser-- Thank you for moving this post. My husband did not apply for TDIU because after reading this board we were under the impression that the VA automatically looked at every one who was rated at 70%. (we think his new rating is at 70 but there was nothing in the letter to let us know that.) Terry-- thanks for the tip regarding the heart disease post from stillhere. We have very few medical records before Oct 1996, (we thought he was healthy) but what we do have his bp was 120/80. The c&p physician opined that his bp was out of control during the exam because his bp was 180/94. However he has white coat syndrome and this was an exception not the rule. I take his bp at home a few times a week and he is well controlled with meds. We did explain this to the c&p physician but he apparently did not listen. Pete--We are unsure of the best way to get a medical opinion. Do we ask his physicians or bring information to an independent Dr.? Do we offer to pay for an opinion? and if so what is the going rate? Berta--He did apply for SSA disability in Dec 2006 and was awarded in Feb. Still waiting for the backpay though. He had to quit work 5 years ago so he just made it under the wire for the five year rule. (which we again learned from this site) Again we owe a big thanks to everyone here for the info we used to fill out all the forms. We actually did it on line, received one phone call, and that was it. His heart is in bad shape so SSA found it cut and dried. Medical rationale for denying his heart and htn as c&p dr. opined it was not from DM11. I don't think he read the training letter the VA put out. C&p dr. stated to us "do not mention heart problem or bp you will get a lot of money for Diabetes". I believe he should be rated at60% because he faxes his blood sugars to his endocrinologist at least 2-3 times per month and then the Dr. calls us with changes to his Insulin. I call these electronic visits but the DRO didn't agree. It was not mentioned in the SOC. Diabetes and cardiomyopathy, were diagnosed in Oct 1996. The first documentation I can find for the htn is in spring of 1997. Again a BIG THANK YOU.

My husband I have been reading this board since Oct 7th (we joined Nov 06). And have learned so much information. We have followed the ideas and advice from here with some success and am grateful for all the wonderful people that dedicate so much of their time and energy to help other vets. Thank you. My husband is a Vietnam Vet and when we were at friends funeral (he was a Vietnam Vetage 59) his widow informed us of the Va's benefits and encouraged us to file. Most importantly she brought us to Hadit. My husband filed Oct 13th. We were notified on Feb.21 by his SO that he was awarded 60%. 20% Diabetes 20% neuropathy legs bil (10 for each) 20% neuropathy hands bil (10 for each) 10% tinnitus special k award. Was denied for heart, hypertension. We requested a reconsideration because they did not look at his Insulin usage or regulation of activities. We received a letter giving us the option of an appeal or a DRO. March 29th we opted for the DRO. April 17th we received a denial for his heart and htn but they did up his DM11 to 40%. We are very grateful for this and can't believe how fast it has happened. We do believe this was because of the information you have on this board. We are surprised and disappointed regarding the denial for the heart and htn. We are unsure of how to proceed to connect the heart and htn. We thought we had given them enough information to connect to the DM. The so has been helpful but we have provided him with a ton information gleaned from this board. My husband could no longer do the work his job required so he was forced to retire early (5 years ago). Our question is where do we go from here? Thanks again for everything you do for so many.

Is there a way to print the dm11 training letter? Thanks to everyone on this board. We have been reading everything you print and find every thing helpful. Thanks again

Thank you for your quick response with questions and suggestions. The eitology on the path report was a fibrous tumor with innoculations that kept bleeding into the tumor. I am just starting with the va 12-1-06. The only recollection I have that would be a connection is in 1970 during my discharge physical the Dr. heard a heart murmur and made me return for another listen and then told me to leave. The tumor was slow growing and didn't let me know it was there until I had chest pain and went to the er. after many test the MRI showed the tumor.

Just wondering if anyone out there has heard of fibrous tumors with a relationship to AO? Had a 2 1/2 lb tumor removed from my chest. It was sitting on my heart and one lung. The result is cardiomyopathy with an EF of 30. Have applied for VA compensation but am having difficlt time finding information linking to AO. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Noel mc