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SS takes into account what your level of education is, what that degree is in, whether you can reasonable be accommodated to do it with your present disabilities, etc. If and when you have a hearing I highly suggest you have an very good attorney. There will be an occupational specialist who will testify about if and why you can or cannot perform all sorts of jobs. Very few people are awarded SS without an exam by a social security examination unless they have the few automatic conditions that you are awarded SSDI or SSI for. Most have to fight and go through the appeals process. I have a feeling that your denial may be based upon your level of education and they will say you can still do "sitting" or "desk" work.

I was awarded SSDI before I was awarded IU PT for the exact same stuff from the VA and used my SSDI award to gain my IU PT from the VA, I did have an attorney and was awarded at my hearing fully favorable in Feb. of 2013 with a date of disability of Jan. of 2009 so max. amount of backpay from SS and then used that to gain IU PT. The VA has always been a huge hassle for me, my attorney was very good not a crappy social security mill. He told me that he had only seen twice in his career the judge award during he hearing and not make someone wait for the results. Yes, it took a long time, ss makes you do the appeals and all that nonsense but I never even went to a examiner for social security, they used all my VA records and I never claimed any disability other than my service connected ones. I was 37 in 2009. I later had my IU PT increased to 100% PT. The VA is more of a shit show imo than SS. At least with SS they go to the date you were actually shown to be disabled by your records even if it does take time, the VA will screw you over in every way they can and do.

So, the VA can send us to incompetent providers (you know NP for complicated things they aren't even specialists in), yet my specialist that I have been seeing at the VA no longer can fill out a DBQ for me? I understand some of these vultures who are charging thousands of dollars for an imo crap to get veterans awards, not my place to judge but my VA or everyday provider who sees me all the time, they should be allowed to fill out my DBQ for more than the quacks that are often hired to do CP exams. You know, the ones who write in their reports that you "waited to long" which is definitely not a valid reason to deny service connection or you had too many babies, also not a reason to deny service connection (when there is evidence in service of the problem existing, won both of those btw) I could go on and on, fact of the matter is, many give up and just say screw it they denied me. Of course they did, they do it all the time and they deny and low ball the shit out of most of us. Another way to get away with it. Shameful, instead they should disallow these "ambulance chasers" I don't know what else to call them. My private doctor doesn't charge me anything to fill out a form, my VA other than my crappy primary care doctor fill out anything I need, including DBQs.

I have only had to call CHAMPVA 3 times and only once was the person actually helpful. Thankfully, in 5 years we have only used it 3 times for my husband and 2 children. I am the only one who goes to the doctors.

I do and I am rated for them separately for them, I won't lie it was a huge battle. Mine are severe and I was seen during AD for an episode which was misdiagnosed as eustachian tube dysfuction. My first claim was denied and the CP examiner didn't even conduct a proper exam and also called me a malingerer. It took not only an official diagnosis of vestibular migraines from both the VA as well as SHANDS but also my neurologist stating that not only was my initial diagnosis most likely in error because no tests were performed but that my vestibular migraines are more likely than not caused by my severe chronic migraines and that my vestibular migraines are severe and often debilitating. Mine are so severe that I am often in a wheelchair, I have a service dog for balance (which was approved by the VA and his veterinary care is covered completely). I don't think I would have ever gotten them service connected if my neurologist hadn't written then letter for me. Being seen for the exact symptoms of my vestibular migraines while in service with a diagnosis wasn't enough apparently and the quack who did my CP exam was incompetent at best, thankfully the ENT who saw me was from SHANDS doing his residency and he immediately did some in office testing and then sent me to ensure it wasn't Menieres. I have on a good day a balance deficit of 40-60% and it only gets worse from there. Sadly, unlike meneires no matter how bad a vestibular condition is, the maximum rating is 30%. Menieres even if it isn't impacting your hearing but slightly with my level of balance issues is 100%, good old VA ancient disability charts. I get a higher rating for incontinence, like wearing a bad is more life altering than being a huge fall risk and having to use an assistive device I was already at 100% PT my fear was that if I do fall that any injury from that fall could seriously injury or kill me so I wanted to ensure that it was service connected. Vestibular conditions are under ear when you look in the CFR

Sounds like a great idea, doesn't necessarily work though.....for example is patient a fall risk NO has the patient fallen in the last 6 months YES more than 3 times YES does patient use aids No cane FYI my primary care doctor is the interim chief at my VA and she is an IDIOT, I have a vestibular disorder that I am service connected for, I am have a walker, a wheelchair and a service dog all of which were provided by the VA (my service dog receives his veterinary care and all of his equipment from the VA, including his balance harness) those are just the really ridiculously obvious ones......I asked her to correct them, ask the patient advocate who thinks the woman walks on water and nothing gets corrected. I stopped bothering, I asked for a primary care doctor at a VA 2 1/2 hours away because the VA close to me is awful. I have never used or had a cane........not sure who they are referring to or where that came from? Can't do anything when your shitty doctor is the interim chief......I thought she sucked before and now ugh I cannot wait until my appointment with my new primary care doctor so I never have to deal with this incompetent witch ever again.

A 10 minute exam is not even close to an adequate mental health exam, I would ask for a new exam based on that alone. I had 3 exams (not kidding) because the first was bs, I asked for another and apparently the VA didn't like the outside opinion, so they asked for a 3rd. I still got my increase and like you I do have suicidal thoughts but no plans, I do not need a fiduciary but my husband does to most of the bills mostly because I don't want to, but I can if I need to. I am 100% against having a fiduciary because unlike SS the VA makes it a hot freaking mess.

I would think having a SOUTHWEST ASIA SERVICE MEDAL would be enough along with a diagnosis?? NO? I guess I am confused, do you not have both?

YES!! I have a walker and then had a scooter order behind my back, refused it, and then a few years later I now have both my service dog and a custom rigid wheelchair with a smartdrive that was added later that I can use when I need it, it is amazing and allows me to use my manual wheelchair on days that I can and days that it is too much to push or days that I am just gonna have to go too far for my shoulder to handle I can throw on the smartdrive assist and it goes up to 5.5 mph and is easy peasy!! All of these items were requested either by my primary care doctor or my neurologist. referral was sent to physical medicine as Richard mentioned

Yes, I agree ask for every single item that you can think of that will make your life better that has been impacted by your disabilities. ILP only has less than 3000 veterans a year allowed into the program, compare that to traditional college bound voc rehab route where students are paid a monthly stipend which can be as much as 3500 a month if they still have post 9/11 gi bill, or they could receive the voc. rehab. stipend which is much less and around 900 if you have a dependent or two per month plus all their tuition, books, computer, and anything else they may need to attend their classes. ILP veterans are veterans who are costing the VA far less and honestly the ILP is a much shorter program (unless extended) and serves the most disabled of our veterans. Think about every single thing you do each week, day, month and how hard those tasks are for you to do, what would make them easier?

Yes!! I have received things from being in the ILP that most people would think, seriously??? They are directly related to my service connected disabilities and the impact they have on my daily living so yes they were approved with tons of hassle but approved, some examples are a roomba, stationary recumbent bike, vitamix blender, noise canceling headphones, I chose a samsung tablet/keyboard instead of a computer because I don't need a computer and the tablet is something that I can use for my audibooks (that I use for when I am often bedridden but cannot do much that involves using my eyes), a weighted blanket, and other items. I am STILL fighting for my hobby items, which is absolutely ridiculous but that is a story for another day. You would think I was asking for a helicopter

You shouldn't have any issues getting a scooter, your primary care doctor can order one for you or any other specialists, it doesn't need to go through your ILP, my old primary care doctor tried to order me one found out and had it stopped, I wanted to maintain my mobility as long as possible and have a service dog for my mobility needs, and for bad days I have a custom wheelchair that the VA paid for, my VA primary care doctor didn't want to sign ANYTHING for my ILP, thankfully voc rehab didn't seem to care who the provider was so I had an outside provider sign for most things, except dental, and mental health, and maybe my neuro signed off for some things. They just put a note in my records and your voc. rehab. counselor can see them. You should absolutely get the desk/computer set up you need as well as the scooter if your disabilities justify them, cost doesn't come into play until it is fairly high honestly, then it just has to go outside your region for approval. You are doubtful to hit that amount at this point. ILP is honestly incredibly frustrating and I hope you have a much better counselor than I do.

Unless you are deemed incompetent you shouldn't have your right to bear arms taken away, period. I am rated at 70% for MH and honestly the last way I would choose to go out is with a gun and I own enough. I have never once in my life wanted to cause harm to others, so taking away my guns only takes away one of my hobbies I love. Makes sense, right? only to idiots who don't understand that we all don't fit in the same box.

There are also some States that extend free or reduced entry and camping to disabled veterans even if they are of residents of that state.....for example Oregon offers 15 days of free camping every month to disabled veterans. Maryland also some benefits, check with every state you are going to travel to!! Including your home state, state parks are also amazing

Here is a link to the best information on the VA's service dog guidelines. My service dog was approved because I have a mobility disability and I know veterans that have ratings less than 100% that have been approved but have mobility disabilities as well. https://www.prosthetics.va.gov/ServiceAndGuideDogs.asp

The VA will not assist with the cost of training or paying for a service dog, if it is decided by your providers that a service dog is an option for you, then a packet is sent to prosthetics and there is a huge process and your service dog MUST come from either a guide dog international or ADI accredited organization and only then they will approve travel and lodging for you to attend training to go and be matched with your service dog and its veterinary care as well as any equipment it may need according to your disabilities will be paid for. I have a service dog from an ADI organization and I did not wait years nor pay anything, the VA pays all of his veterinary care and for all of his equipment. It wasn't an easy or short battle with the VA mostly because no one at my local VA had any idea what the heck they needed to fill out or what to do. I had to find out myself and fight. If you are training your own dog then you will not get the VA to pay for anything.

That is great, my counselor never even bothered to send anyone to do one when I was put in the ILP, my counselor is horrible I hope you have a much better one who actually does their job!! I was Ben's group for a long time and sadly not many counselors know how to or want to, not sure which honestly, deal with veterans in the ILP. I have seen veterans receive the help they need and then others nothing really but a ton of drama and fighting for the simplest item.

There are various plans available to you and your dependents that are eligible for CHampVA, we have the Met Life high option plan because it has no waiting periods for anything except orthodontics which is 24 months (and most of the other plans have waiting period for most major work and don't cover orthodontics at all), it also has a higher maximum per person per year. We haven't had a need for any major work yet but we have 5 people using it and 2 children that will need braces (our older children are already done with theirs) so it really pays for itself with cleanings and xrays and even I got for extra cleanings so 10 cleanings and xrays a year. The premium will go up to $157 a month in Jan. I am sure a lot of folks will say is insane but each cleaning would be that much or more so for us it is a not a big deal.

Sadly, there is very little information in that group about ILP.

Currently only post 9/11 veteran's caregivers are allowed in the program that allows them to receive all of the benefits of being paid etc. The rest of us have to wait, until when well.........Vietnam era and earlier vets were supposed to be implemented June of this year but they have been stalled, surprise surprise and are projected to be hopefully implemented into the program in June of 2020, the rest of veteran's caregivers will be eligible 2 years AFTER those veteran's caregivers have been given access to the caregiver program. The VA saves a lot of money the longer they wait, so why bother, right? No one is fighting for pre 9/11 veterans.

People buy houses with only their VA compensation or SSDI as income or both, so this is absolutely not true. Of course you do need to have the needed credit score and debt/income ratio to be approved for loans, etc.

My membership just renewed last month and I still did it and it extended my membership to October of 2021, great deal!! I had seen it before you posted but in case no one realized you can truly extend your membership that you may have just renewed to save 40 bucks it is a great deal.

Something to consider is I hope you have enough recent work credits, so many disabled veterans don't file for SSDI and wait too long. I would file ASAP.

There is a difference between addicted and dependent, yes they seem like the same thing but here is the difference......addiction is when you are using something other than how it is prescribed to you, taking it more often, more than you are supposed to at a time but taking a drug you are prescribed and then titrating off of that drug because you have become dependent on it, which can happen with many medications, some anti-depressants are like this, benzos, many meds, even meds that you don't even think about honestly. There is so much of a stigma and even shame associated with those who take and need opioids or any other medication that may be abused in some way. It is perfectly normal to want to titrate off of something that may not be working for you any longer but like someone mentioned above make sure you go to the pain clinic and know what other options are available to you. Sadly, if you do decide to completely go off of them you might not be able to go back on them.........so many doctors are just refusing to prescribe them at all now. I hope it all works out well for you. If you are in a medical legal state I highly suggest you at least try medical marijuana.

I am sadly of no help to you with your claim but also am battling this condition and it is absolutely awful! On top of all of my other service connected disabilities it is literally the straw that may break this camel's back. The VA is absolutely zero help in treatment, cause, sending me to any specialists other than an allerigst ( hello, ZERO ALLERGIES) so 8 claritin, xolair which the VA refuses to allow my community based care provider through the mission act to give and insists I be driven 6 hours round trip every two weeks to receive? Yeah, yippeee go Mission ACT screw us again........ anyway I don't believe there is no cause, that is bs. My primary care doctor did tell me to fast for 3 weeks on nothing but water and that would reset my system and that would cure me , my 20 year old was with me and told her she was out of her mind basically. My neuro told me that I would end up in the hospital if I tried that for a week let alone 3, of course she never put any of that in my actual medical records........because she wouldn't want to be held accountable.