raptorick

My symptoms got worse! Psychiatrist said to stop taking it. YEAH!! It's been 3 days but I'm still feeling it. Thanks for the replies and support.

I'll try this again. My post was lost. "Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Service connection is denied because the required service in Vietnam is not shown, nor is there evidence of exposure to herbicides during military service. The evidence does not show the locations of your military service or the events you experienced therein qualify for the presumption of service connection for your disease." I did not provide much evidence beyond stating that I served at Korat Thailand in 1969. I didn't have any help with my claim and concentrated mostly on the PTSD issues. I worked in the 388 Tac Fighter Wing Headquarters at Korat RTAFB and was responsible for destroying classified materials at a base incinerator weekly. I remember driving a jeep on a dirt road out to the incinerator which was surrounded by a fence with a locked gate which I had a key for. I can't find the incinerator on any of the maps I've located on the internet. I just remember it was dusty, windy and smokey out there. It must have been near the perimeter. I was an E-5 and visited the NCO Club regularly which is near the perimeter and I can't confirm the location of my living quarters but I believe they were near the perimeter also. So providing evidence will be very difficult in my estimation. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and the support. It feels like I've found lost brothers and sisters.

Anyone have experience with Topiramate 25mg, twice daily. I'm having a bad reaction to it. been on it 2 weeks now. nervous, anxious, restless legs, vibrations, tinnitus louder and more annoying and constant

Got my decision today! 10% service connected for tinnitus, $130.94 a month start date Nov 1, 2012. Denied for Peripheral Neuropathy because not manifested within one year of last exposure to herbicide and also required service in Viet Nam not shown and denied for soft tissue sarcoma for the same reason. I was stationed in Korat Thailand in 1969. The issue of compensation for post traumatic stress disorder is deferred for an attempt to obtain your military hospital records from Carswell AFB, Texas in Sept 1968. I have been receiving treatment at the VA for PTSD for almost a year now. I'm grateful for the 10% service connected compensation. I don't know how to proceed or what to do next. Guess I'll go talk to the VA service officer at the county office.

It's never been easy for me to relate to other human beings so forgive me in advance. Sometimes when I'm reading your posts I wonder how you got into my head. I suffer from terminal uniqueness and I am always amazed when someone else is experiencing some of the same things I am. My diagnosis is PTSD from personal assault and MST plus depression. My claim still has not been approved. I've been getting treatment at 2 VA clinics for about a year now. I'm in cognitive group therapy and one on one sessions with a psychologist and also separate somatic therapy sessions. The anger we harbor must be allowed to be released in a safe way. I think it has been vitally beneficial to be exposed to others with similar problems in group therapy. I'll be honest that it has not always been easy and I have experienced some awful panic attacks and flashbacks which have sent me running out of the room overwhelmed with fear but I have gotten through these experiences and the acceptance and validation I have received from the group members is invaluable. We become a support group for each other so we get to experience giving AND getting support. My natural state is isolation but I have forced myself out of isolation by accepting and agreeing to all the different therapies that have been offered. I don't know your diagnosis so I would never advise you about the medication but in my case I have had less than favorable results on psych drugs and am currently refusing to take any. The psychiatrist and psychologist continue to gently suggest that I should continue to try them. Prozozine specifically lowered my blood pressure to an unacceptable level and it had no effect on my nightmares. I think on some things our experience is our best guide. But I know that isolation and negative thoughts will always have a negative result. Someone told me I can create a positive life with positive thoughts. I know....sometimes that's the last thing we want to hear but doesn't it makes sense? That in itself is progress for me. We ARE suffering from PTSD so we don't need anything else to explain the unexplainable symptoms we suffer from. For what we have experienced we are acting normally. I think we just have to believe that if we do the work, go to thearapy, be honest with our therapists, do what is suggested and when we need to, seek more help, that we can recover to the degree that we can have a life worth living. You are not alone we are never alone. Talk to you pych about your drugs. If you don't notice any difference than before you started Prozac then your psychiatrist should know that. Communication does not come easy for those of us who seek to isolate but it is vital. We think we are safe when we isolate, safe from harming others, safe from others harming us but it's just an illusion. We have a diagnosed condition that requires action and there are those like us that have recovered significantly from the symptoms we suffer from. Who knows what is waiting for us at the end of this journey and what adventures we will have on this journey? Who knows if someone somewhere is waiting for us to help them. Maybe that's why we've been given what now seems like an unbearable burden so that someday we can help someone else through it. Thank you for sharing you experience. You helped me more than you can know and I'm grateful. I believe you have so much more to do.

Is it recommended to have the AO Registry exam? My claim was submitted in Oct 2013 and is in the PFD stage. Should I request the AO Registry exam?

thanks for the reply! I worked in the Wing Commanders office and regularly took classified documents to bun in the incinerator which was on the perimeter of the base. I was concerned that my surgery wasn't until 1996 and might not be considered service related.

I was in Korat RTAFB in 1969 and in 1996 had surgery to remove a cancer tumor termed "fibro sarcoma". Is there any chance this could be presumed caused by military herbicide exposure?

Thanks for the responses. I just got logged on. My claim has been in the PFD stage for a month and I've been logging on a lot to see what the status is. Guess I should just forget it and stop worrying about it. Thanks again

Haven't been able to log into ebenefits for 2 days now. Is anyone else able to log in? I get a the following server error: Internal Server Error The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request. Please contact the server administrator, you@your.address and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error. More information about this error may be available in the server error log. IBM_HTTP_Server Server at vateriamsfm201.prod.vaafi.iam.vha.med.va.gov Port 443

for 2 days now I have not been able to log into ebenefits. Is anyone else having this problem?