jbasser

If it has been signed, then your service rep will know. If not Fire them.

Keep me posted on the DMII. I will go the same route. DMII and hypertension seem to run hand in hand. Just need a doc to put them together. John

P and T means permanent and total. That should do it with SSD. If not at the first step , at least the ALJ step.

I am also waiting my 100 percent decision. I know I will win but it is a waiting game. Good luck on the DMII claim. I need to file mine but I decided to wait.

Boats there should be a ouple of pages that look loke a play by play as to what they did. It tells everything including the cathiter used,where it was put and other items. If you dont have it, try to get a complete copy of the record. If it was VA then they must still have it, If it is outsidem the Cardiac Doc will have it. It is very important to vets who have procedures done to get the exact reports, Including OR reports. There is nothing that can debate an exact report. Carlie, are you Ok? That is pretty low.

What was the EF on the heart cath? It overrides any other test for it is an actual measurement.

That LEF on a Nuke Scan is an estimated guess. Have you ever had a heart cath done? To kind of give you an idea about the MEt and EF. 1 MET = 10 Ef. for example your ef is 48 you have 4.8 mets according to the test. If you can afford it or have other insurance, go outside and see a well established cardiologist who can help you. 7005 Arteriosclerotic heart disease (Coronary artery disease): With documented coronary artery disease resulting in: Chronic congestive heart failure, or; workload of 3 METs or less results in dyspnea, fatigue, angina, dizziness, or syncope, or; left ventricular dysfunction with an ejection fraction of less than 30 percent 100 More than one episode of acute congestive heart failure in the past year, or; workload of greater than 3 METs but not greater than 5 METs results in dyspnea, fatigue, angina, dizziness, or syncope, or; left ventricular dysfunction with an ejection fraction of 30 to 50 percent 60 Workload of greater than 5 METs but not greater than 7 METs results in dyspnea, fatigue, angina, dizziness, or syncope, or; evidence of cardiac hypertrophy or dilatation on electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, or X-ray 30 Workload of greater than 7 METs but not greater than 10 METs results in dyspnea, fatigue, angina, dizziness, or syncope, or; continuous medication required 10

Boats, call their bluff on the cervical radiculpathy. The regs clearly state that for Cervical spine ratings that any neurologic symptoms must be rated accoring to the effected nerve over and above the rating for limitation of motion. Has service connection been in effect for 10 years on the radiculpathy. If you dont mind, post a copy of the C@P examination. To me this sounds like the ro smoked their lunch.

Jerry, you can write a letter to the RO and ask them to expedite the decision in your claim for a delay will put you into a severe financial hardship. They are usually pretty good about things like that. If that does not work, contact your congressman. John

I was sent last week to an outside eye doctor. He was very nice and did the exam. he wrote me a new prescription and I was off to the VA to get it filled. I got to the VA and the Optometry dude took the prescription, I picked out a set of frames. I sat down for him ot measure the eyes and he wrote it all up. He asked me If I wanted lined or no lined Bifocals. I said no line if no cost were involved, He said there was. I said OK then Lined is OK. We finished up and he said that will be 49 dollars. I said why? he said since it was an outside prescription. I paid it reluctantly. When I got home the Boss found the recipt and she asked what it was for. I said Glasses. She said it should be no cost to for me and said I will take careof it. The next day she called the Chief of the EYE clinic and there is a refund on its way. So service connected vets, If the VA sends you to a fee basis eye doctor, dont let them try to charge you for glasses.

Hi Liz, I also apologize for not posting sooner. The little white thingee on the finger is an 02 saturation, It measures oxygen in the blood. ALso the reason the Blood pressure cuff was pinching your arm is most likely your BP was very high and the machine had to really pump hard to get a correct reading.. Make sure you control this for HBP left untreated can be a killer. Anyway, We are here for you. You can post or PM at any time if you need assistance. John

Dont forget the Courts are the ones who rule. It does not matter what a congress person or senator does. The Court can turn it around.

When dealing with the VA one must not assume anything. Even if a MD states something in the notes it is not a done deal. The Ro does not look at it unless it is used as evidence in a claim. The person to instigate the RO to look at it is the Veteran. As far as reading service records, I have a case that the may help/ I filed a hypertension claim in 1998 because of another claim I received a letter stating The Va had received the service records. I asked the VARO to reopen he claim based on the Service records being New and material evdence. The RO denied the claim stating there were no complaints, treatment or evidence of any high blood pressure readings in service. I filed a NOD. Now I asked to reopen in 2003. I received a letter that the claim was inferred. I was granted SC for Hypertension and heart disease with a date of 2003. I filed a NOD along with a cue claim on the 1998 decision asking for an EED because of CUE because the VA did not read the service records. (there were 7 compensable readings from Service and 3 from the reserves as well as a diagnosis from the first post service year. The same went for migraine headaches. The best advise ot to get and keep all pertainent records. If you can, scan them in a computer and keep a copy of the disk in a Bank safe deposit box. JBasser.

Tamara, make a copy of the award and send it to the SSA. They may reverse their decision and grant SSD. If you have an attorney, have them forward it along with a request to grant benefits due based on the VA decision.

SSD state disability service does the first claim. They look at your info and make a determination after a MD has reviewed their decision. If you meet a listing level impairment or adult listing it should be Ok. But rermember the SSA denies 60 percent of all claims. go to www.ssa.gov, search for impairments adult then look at your records to see if you meet it for your disabilities. thye should send you a password to get into the ssa system to self check ont he claim. If you have IU then the VA has decided you cannot work, However SSA does not have to follow VA. Jbasser

Pete, caution on the endomethacin. Take it with plenty of food or milk for it can really hurt the stomach. Carpal tunnel can also present like tendonitis. Hope it gets better. John

When a Er person asks you how you got there they are fishing for information. If you leave with a drug in your system and cannot drive, it is ther heads on the chopping block. They have asked me at the ER, but for regular appts, it never has happened.

Doc says that my Sleep Apnea is connected to my weight which is connected to my SC'd left leg/ankle Larry, have the doc write it up. If he is a VA doc, get a copy of the progress notes and fire away at the ro for sleep apnea secondary to the ankle. If you use a CPAP machine it is a 50 percent rating. Docs opinion is key point here. Sounds good to me. vike 17 can add serious insight to this claim.

The Post determination team may have caught an error and kicked it back to the rating board. This happens quite often. They may pass it back and forth many times. A good bet is to call your POA rep at the RO and have them find out what is going on and why they are playing catch with your claim? It should not be too much longer.

"Or the vet could have been a democrat! Being dead doesnt stop them from voting, why should it stop them from VA benefits." J/K Posting of political or bashing is not condoned here at Hadit. JBASSER

Remember that the VA Secretary is a political appointee. The Next person will also have a short tenure. I think Ollie or Norman would be a great choice. Personally I would like to nominate Berta. Anyway the new person needs to be an expert in Damage Control for that seems to be the Job Description.

"The medical evidence shows that you have CFS, CTS, asthma, joint pain, memory loss, and visual loss. The reports did not show any other conditions of a nature that would prevent you from working. We realize that at present you are unable to perform certain kinds of work. But based on your age of 39 years, education of 13 years, and your experience, you can perform light work (for example, you could lift a maximum of 20 lbs., with frequent lifting or carring of objects weighing up to 10 lbs, or walk or stand for much of the working day), a job which your difficulty seeing certian things would not interfere with your work, a job in which the work situation would not make your condition worse and a job in which you have to drive or operate machinery, and you would not be exposed to dangerous conditions". Tamara, this statement is based solely upon your age. What you can do is go ahead and appeal now. You should get an attorney, regardless of what others think. An attorney usually has a network of MDS that they use to counter the SSA. For example the SSA states you can do light work for much of the day. That is not good enough. It has to state you can it in a 8 hour work day. An IMO will rip this apart. Unlike the VA, SSA can discriminate based on age. John

Those statements are called lay statements and the VA usually does not pay them too much regard. Sometimes they actually look at them but they will want their own opinion. .The Doctor whom you saw after discharge is the one to help. He can write a Nexus and state the Apnea started during your service and he needs explain his rationale for his opinion. Contact the Doctor on AD that told you this. It should be in the records. If so and you still have Apnea it should be a slam dunk at 50 percent. ( CPAP machine used)

That is great news, I read the story and it also said the VA has the option to appeal to the Supreme Court. I hope they dont but if it drags it out they will.

Try NPRC New Orleans. Yhey may have the records there.