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Wow social security is that long? I had to go to hearing and in 2013 and it didn't take that long from first filing to hearing......not even close, that is horrible!! As far as education for your kids, that shouldn't be a worry right now, they will have chapter 35 and there are other scholarships out there as well to help them when the time comes.

Also, aren't you currently trying to fight for SSDI? If you work at all you will be denied. I would not risk your IU or your SSDI claim for what you seem to know will be short term employment at best.

What exactly did the letter say, is it a proposal to reduce? You shouldn't be getting a letter saying it is just being taken away, it should be a proposal first and a reason why.......what exactly are they saying is their reason?

That is terrible, it must be a regional thing so far because i still see my hygienist every 6 months and my dentist at least once a year for regular check ups but always have ongoing care. I have metlife also because I purchased it for my family so I use it for the extra cleanings and annual with our family dentist to ensure nothing is missed just in case as it is covered already at no extra cost. I would be pretty upset, are they at least doing your cleanings and xrays every 6 months like they should? This is not "routine" dental care.

I did the same thing ;)

Wouldn't it be nice if the VA actually made it clear and not so dang vague? I have wrist braces, a walker, creams for this and that, I wear diapers and pads (that they know do not work and i have accidents which then lead to ruining clothing), etc. so who the heck knows what qualifies and what bean counter decides? ;)

I got an email about the clothing allowance, not sure if I even qualify honestly. Should I call prosthetics and ask?

thanks!! I will try not to let them lead me astray this time.............;) and I will look into that site as well.

Shocker Buck the va cp examiner site called me today to schedule what I thought was just a deferred item and another that had been denied ( the RO called me yesterday and I asked about the denied shoulder and said I had my medical records in front of me, the gentleman actually asked what date, etc. and said, no wonder it was missed, upload this statement into ebenefits etc, I am scheduling you for a cp exam for your shoulder as well) the qtc exam that they never scheduled he stated would be scheduled as well. The VA CP called said I had two appointments and I asked what they were for, assuming they were the gyn and shoulder. The lady stated, first appointment gyn and shoulder and 2nd is Mental Health. Apparently, someone wasn't too happy with the exam I was given and they are giving me another one! I commented are you sure, I just had one in May? She said, yes. It is most definitely mh. They want a new exam with a new psychiatrist. I hope that is good news?

It will all be over and done soon and you can relax, I am much like you, even though I am 100% PT that open bits drive me nuts and I just want it all closed and done. Best wishes and we can both have a huge sigh of relief that much of our headache is over soon. The fight is never truly over as we have lost so much and our lives are never the same, but we have our families and that is all that truly matters.

My regional office called me today too because QTC hadn't scheduled me after they called me months ago and I told them I would not see a male provider for a gyn exam. They didn't even have any female providers they could find. She said she would call me back and never did. I called the VA 1800 number and no one ever called me, so I have sat waiting, today finally they are scheduling me at the VA for my last 2 deferred CP exams. I am already PT but these will close my crap and be done!! I hate QTC they are idiots.

I agree completely!! My ssdi win helped me win my IU PT, I won my SSDI based only on my sc disabilies and only on my va records, I used that and submitted it as new evidence after initially being denied IU by the VA within a year of that denial and they awarded me IU PT. So yes, they are often all connected and very relevant to one another.

I was told at my hearing that I was awarded fully favorable (well my attorney was told and even the date of my disability so I knew what my backpay was going to be that very day) I actually had the letter and money within a month or so. It all happened very quickly. I am sure every state or region is different as backlogs etc. make paperwork take longer but congratulations.

She will receive chapter 35 money for the period you were awarded back to 100% pt that she was a full time student, which is around 1000 per month for each month she was a full time student, it will not pay off her student loans per se, but she can use the money to use to do that if it is enough. For example if you were awarded a date of September 1, 2016 and she was a full time student for September, Oct., Nov., and part of Dec. she would receive Chapter 35 benefits for all of that time which would be around 3500 depending how many days in December she attended school. Chapter 35 does not pay for tuition, books, fees etc. only the stipend. You don't need to have the loans to prove she was in school. You need the VA certifying official at her college to certify her attendance through the VA that she was attending school using Chapter 35. They will know how to do that. She will receive the money, if you were receiving any money for her on your award during that time as a dependent or you did in retro, it will be taken back........which is not usually a big deal to us as parents. :) So if you were 100% and you were collecting $$ for her as a school age child that 200 some odd bucks will be taken back from you for the months she receives chapter 35. I hope that makes sense. I had two kids that were in college when I was awarded PT, so I have been there ;)

Even with all the bullcrapI went through I am still of the attitude that I know what my conditions are, what my symptoms are, how they are documented and what is written in my healthy vet. My husband keeps on top of them for me as well, because let's face it not all providers accurately put notes in. My neuro, ent, and other specialists are fantastics, mh not so great. I ensure that every time I have filed for an increase that I know that it is warranted by my records not just by what I think or say and go in fully prepared. It wasn't as big of a deal to me when I was working and not IU PT honestly. Then I was fighting to go from 30 to 50 for something but it still mattered. I have the attitude that fear isn't going to allow the VA to steer me not to file a claim, not for something I am entitled to file to. I am not going to live my life that way. If that means that they are going to try to mess with me, so be it. It did cause me stress but you know what, why should we not be taken care of because we are afraid? That is absurd and ridiculous.

I think severing service connection is much different than lowering the rating. I have no experience with this what so ever. I would think there would have to be some sort of fraud involved. I actually had an examiner say something wasn't service connected and they were overruled by the rater because I submitted evidence showing service connection. If service connection has been proven it seems strange for it to be taken away, not sure why you would be worried about that.

The quack they sent me to was a general practitioner qtc doctor who did my exam in less than 90 seconds. I had seen my VA neurologist less than a month prior who had added a new medication to my already long list to prevent me from having to go to the er (or not go because the VA hadn't paid in the past) he had just had my husband trained to give me 5 injections a month for the WORST of my migraines for emergent relief so I can hydrate and avoid the er. My VA records of over a decade of worsening migraines, med failures etc. were more than proof my migraines have worsened not improved. The guy was simply a jerk and didn't do his job or didn't know how to use the computer (which was also obvious). The failure was also on the rater and the person who was supposed to review his decision. I had held a rating on my migraines since 2006. My initial rating was for 30%, the rating of 50% was from 2008 and they proposed the reduction to 0%. Incredibly scary when you put in a claim for housebound/aid and attendance and it comes back with that. I, like you, was told the same. I had nothing to fear, my migraines have obviously not improved, in fact my neurologist would state they alone make me unemployable still, and that is a true statement. None of my sc conditions have improved, never will. I believed that the regulations that the VA is supposed to follow would be and they weren't.

I just had a proposal to reduce a rating from 50 to 0 that I had held for over 8 years and I was IU 70 PT overall. So, they do as they please. rules or no rules..........how we respond is another story :) With an email to the right person(s) written well with attached evidence, etc. within 2 weeks I had not only a new award letter but within that award letter was an apology. Not sure how often that happens, but my VSO stated he has NEVER seen it before.

I am not going to report him for not referring me, I just think he is being super weird right not. The gyn is ridiculous!!! I am going to start raising some hell about it though. I am going to have my neurologist put in the referrals for the other things, clearly the local clinic I go to doesn't even know what the heck vestibular therapy is or that recreational therapy even exists. Currently, I am being driven 2 1/2 hours each way once a week for mental health therapy because my local va can't provide individual therapy and choice hasn't been able to locate me a provider in 5 months. THAT is absurd. The irony will come when they refuse to pay my travel. lol have I told you lately how much I love the VA??

So, if I ask my pcp to refer me for care and he does not, then I have recourse? I plan to send him another secure message asking for vestibular therapy, recreational therapy and not kidding, I have to have a freaking referral but yes gynecology. If he doesn't do these things I can file a report?

ah, we all get to be a bit "of a head case" dealing with this crap, if we aren't one when we start we are when we are done at least until we can take a breather, it sounds like you need one. I have been there too......not long ago and still have days that I have to remind myself to not get so amped about the va's crap. I still have some open cp exams as well and I am 100% as well but it still drives ya nuts anyway. I try to not think about it most days because it will make me stress and stress does very bad things to me.......it is very bad for our mental health. You know it, I know it yet here we are ;) gotta find a hobby or something......I have to figure out what that is that I can do with my phsycial and mental limitations, maybe photography in my yard with the kids, something.......see if you can find something to get your mind off of this crap for awhile. Hang in there!!

hey if he didn't take any of your $ and he is withdrawing as your attorney and your are 100% I wouldn't worry about it ;)

I should have known better for sure, this ain't my first rodeo...good news is that it won't reduce my rating for mh or my overall but it isn't an accurate rating either. Just pisses me off that they pull this crap.

I was honestly in my worst state ever at an exam, I had had a panic attack in the waiting room, was in a complete state of tears and this woman kept repeatedly asking me if I was suicidal and telling me she was really worried about me, I was really afraid. I thought she was going to have me baker acted. She even went so far as to ask how I discipline my children? I have never had anyone ask me that in over 15 years of psychiatrists.......it was scary honestly. Because I was so fearful, I lost my head and didn't follow my own known rules for these guidelines. She took advantage of my very vulnerable state.

I won't upload a ton of notes, just that statement from 2013 from my long time VA psychiatrist and my response to her exam, she didn't even ask me a single question about my panic attacks? yet stated I don't have panic disorder with agoraphobia. She must have opined this because I she asked me after seeming VERY concerned and asked if my family ever took vacations, and I was honest and told her that after finding out that Disney has disability accomodations, which will make it so I don't have to wait in lines that we were going to take our young children for hte first time. That we were using the Disability services and staying off of Disney at a condo so I didn't have to be around loud crowds, could eat in our condo and just go to the park for a short period of time and leave as needed. THAT was what she based her decision on, I supposed, funny how they twist things and only include that I was going to Disney, not how I had to go through a ton of crap and how hard it was for me to do that for my children. I wouldn't care if she wrote that, that is the truth. I busted my butt and sucked it up and did it. That was a huge deal. Did they get to spend hours in the park each day? No, but they got to go to Disney (we live in Florida, so it isn't like we flew and drove for days) but still, I had to be on a ton of benzos and use my walker, etc. I am sure there are many veterans with ptsd, etc. who go to Disney or do other things and have panic disorders etc. I don't like being lied to, and I feel like this is a game to the VA and that really makes me mad. It shouldn't be like that. I wish they would video tape these damn things and that way no one can lie. I would love that. I am at the point that I won't go to any appointment alone anymore at the VA except my neurologist, he is about the only provider, him and my urologist that I don't think are full of crap.