Mike_S

I won't sleep soundly just because I want to hear anything happening outside. Day and night I would go to every window in the house to check what made the noise. Security cameras became more affordable and I bought a system that can accept 16 cameras. I only have 9 cameras now but need a few more to cover a few unseen areas. Sometimes I go back to the recordings to check something. It makes me feel better. A VSO recently said to me. "I thought you said you have no PTSD?". I don't I told him, that's normal, right? Apparently that's not true except for veterans. I've discovered other issues I thought were normal too. They were buried in my mind and I want to keep them there instead of seeking deserved benefits. It's just not worth it and I'll be dead before I ever see anything. I've used the Lorex camera systems with no problems for several years. Not an endorsement, just positive feedback.

My point was the target heart rate should be adjusted because the beta blocker keeps the heart rate lower than it would normally be. People are even told not to take them before a stress test unless the Cardiologist requires it just to save their butt should you have a cardiac event on their watch. I normally can't work at that pace. Every two years I have another test and I take those as a challenge. I go to the gym weeks before and do more work on the treadmill just to make sure I can do it. I mentioned that to one of the Cardiologists during one of my stress tests and he told me I shouldn't be doing that because it was dangerous. Now I ask, how can that be dangerous if I'm capable of achieving 10 mets? Everything is fixed now. Next time no meds. I want the real mets number.

Presumptive AO with CABG in 2006. There was no cardiac rehab available at any VA in South Florida at that time and I could not afford it on the outside. That said, after a couple of years I had to do something and bought a gym membership. I did that to practice for the stress test. I eventually did well on the test at 10 METS and higher which reduces any compensation to 10% disability because I require meds. I am on Beta Blockers for one of my heart meds. Those meds keep the heart rate down and it takes much more effort and time to reach the target heart rate. METS = % disability. I have brought this up each time I have a stress test and they tell me to take the meds. However this skews the results. The target heart rate should be adjusted when these meds are required before the test or let us stop using them when safe to do so for the test. I feel screwed one more time.

Leanne I think we all do that. We keep helping our own. Nobody (almost) is helping. We did it for each other in our bad times. We are the only ones that can understand what we feel and what we have been asked to do for and did for our country. Only we care and I don't think the country gives a shit or cares. They just want to forget about it. We can't. Welcome home. Where is our parade? We get a great big F U for your service. The thank you is hollow. I've had a few beers so take it with a grain of beer or something.

Wow, that is a big change. I worked for a Federal government agency (Railroad Retirement Board) and there was never any cooperation between agencies. We needed data from the SSA and it took forever. Even within an agency each department protects its data from all of the others. Each department of a government agency is a kingdom and they battle each other. I could only take working there for a year and a half before going back to a real job even though the benefits were better at the RRB. They did however treat veterans well and even seemed to have a hands off approach to Vietnam vets. This was in the 90's and I as told by others we could not be fired. I knew one vet that was drinking/drunk at his desk and they had him get counseling while on the clock at full pay. Maybe it was their way of saying welcome home. They knew we had problems but nobody knew what they were. So many of us still waiting for our parade. Welcome home every one of you. Thank you for your service to each other.

I'm glad I spotted this and finally get to contribute a little info for a change. I too was tired all of the time taking frequent naps and was no longer motivated to do anything. I wanted to do all sorts of things, work on cars, boats, my house and everything else that I always did in the past. A few years ago there was a television commercial showing my symptoms and it mentioned low T. I don't know why they didn't just say testosterone in the commercial, I had to google it. I mentioned it to my PCP and was tested. Yep, very low. They (VA) started with the patch and that had minimal effect on my T level. The patch is worn all day, every day, was uncomfortable and irritated my skin. The adhesive is hard to remove and stays on your skin for days. Finally the gel became available and I started using that. It was much better and you can adjust the dose with the amount you apply. For me, that was better but the dose was still not enough to raise the T level to a low normal range. It took over two years of screwing around slowly increasing the dose every 6 months to finally get injections. TESTOSTERONE CYP 200MG/ML IML IN OIL is what I have. It started with one injection per month, then twice monthly and finally one and a half of the 200mg/ml vials twice a month. It did help with energy and motivation. I had heart bypass surgery several years ago and had been going to the gym 3 days a week long before getting testosterone and that did not help my energy level at all. In fact it was nearly impossible but I had to do it. At first I had to drive to the VA and wait to get an injection twice a month but now they send it to me and I do it myself. As a heart patient there was an issue that came up about a year ago with testoserone therapy and a high red cell count. I was instantly cut off and really pissed. They sent me to a Hematologist who checked me and I was back on T again. On my own I have cut back the dose. The initial report of potential heart problems has been largely dismissed even by the cardiologist that had stopped it out of an abundance of caution. You may also check to see if you have sleep apnea which can also do the same thing. I also have sleep apnea and am now using a cpap machine. The combination of the two have me nearly normal. Mike

Thank you Berta for doing the heavy lifting, you are one of our treasured resources.

I think the DBQ is something the VA would like to see and the reluctance of the VA Doctors to fill them out (for whatever reason) may not be a major problem. At least my Primary Care physician (a nurse practitioner) will do it if the others won't. If I don't have the Doctor filling out the DBQ I think I should be able to cite their reports and names in my medical records in addition to the VA DBQ documents. Anything I can do to make it easy for the VA could help. This is for a presumptive AO Ischemic Heart disease. I had a heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery. Left ventrical and ejection fraction are now normal after several years of being serious about going to the gym. Mets are 10+ but several BP meds are required for Hypertension that is difficult to control. Sleep Apnea diagnosed by the VA with a cpap machine and a med (Modafinil) specifically for the SA could be secondary to the IHD or PTSD.

The cardiologist at the VA did not want to fill out the DBQ and was just passing it on for someone else to do. She picked up a stack of paper and said "I have all of this paperwork to do. This was for an AO presumptive IHD and bypass surgery. This was the first time that I actually saw the VA as the enemy. I left feeling she thought I was trying to scam the system. The other 2 cardiologists I had at the VA were really very good but now I am stuck with this one. Mike

The specialists seem to pass on it and appear to have never done one. This is going to take much longer than I thought. With only a year to do it, a quarter of my time is already gone from the beginning of the start of my initial claim. Mike

Thank you Berta, I had found some of that information before but where was some new stuff like TIA's. I don't know what kind of doctor or test to ask for that can help with my brain issue. It seems the VA will do just about any test I ask for if it is a reasonable request but my primary care provider (a Nurse Practitioner) has not suggested anything. For example, I had not been seen by a Dermatologist for decades. I have many moles all over my body and one day I just asked, "Shouldn't I see a dermatologist about these?". She said, she would put in for a consult. That confirmed a malignant melanoma which was several square centimeters. It was removed once by the VA but by then I had also gone to a good outside Dermatologist for another opinion about everything. That doctor got the pathology report from the VA surgery and went over it with another pathologist. The VA said they had good margins and the other guys said they were not . In the end, it was up to me to decide to have the surgery done over on the outside at my expense. It was $6000 out of pocket and I had to do it. Berta, you put a lot of work into your responses to me and to others. I appreciate the time you take to do this. I learn from your responses to questions other people post too.

He really is providing vets a bargain for those services. I'm just now preparing my initial claim and Nexus letters would probably be very helpful. I will contact him.

The MRI showed occipital lobe damage and a Neurologist wrote up the MRI narrative which included, 1 - Old ischemic infarct with encephalomalalacia in the left occipital lobe 2 - Chronic supratentorial white matter changes, consistant with microanglopathic demyelination The MRI was for Pituitary without and with contrast. I think the cause of my brain problem was being On Pump and showed up immediatly after heart surgery. I brought the results to the AO exam to see if it answered any of my questions. I have high cholesterol controlled by a statin. I have High Blood Pressure fairly controlled by several meds and much work with a PharmD. I've had many ECHOs done and the results show a good EF and Left Ventrical is now a normal size. Yes my heart disease is ischemic and my ticket into the system as presumptive. I am in the process of getting copies of all of all medical records, VA and non VA. My boots were on the ground and with the help of Chris Attigs ebooks and new claims guide I am trying to provide a nexus IHD, HBP, sleep apnea (diagnosed by the VA and a VA provided CPAP machine) and other less important issues that the VA has forms for. I think there is also a PTSD issue but the shrink seemed to dismiss it. Thank you for your help.

I too got a Choice Card but I have not used it. Three or four months ago when the big VA problem was in the news, I had an appointment with the VA Hematologist at the Miami VA. He retired a week before my appointment and the VA had an outside Dr. set up an appointment with me. They are paid Medicare rates and I have had 3 appointments with blood work and no bill. I'm supposed to pay the copay but I have not been charged yet. I think this is happening elsewhere too. I'm not real fond of the VA but there are some rays of hope for outside help. Don't throw the card away, yet.

A site I go to that helps with sleep apnea issues is http://www.freecpapadvice.com lots of info and the owner has recently started a business that is less expensive for cheaper testing at home. The site owner is a sleep tech.

Hi Berta I never knew I could file a claim for anything until recently so I'm working on my initial claim now for several items. I understand Nehmer would only apply if I had already filed in the past. I didn't know I could file in 06 when I had the heart attack. Nobody at the VA has ever said anything. I have no ratings yet. John It's good to know that 0% for the heart will give me the chance to try and SC some other things that can be related like Sleep Apnea and Hypertension. I have been self employed and there has been no new programming since 06 and I only maintain and run some of my old programs with notes and a map I wrote to guide me. This problem with pump head has made it impossible. I have Medicare now as a backup but have not used it yet. The bypass was an emergency so it was done at a real hospital. I knew I was going to need some heart work done and thought it might be a stent or two. I had been looking outside of the U.S. for something I could afford (I've only had Medicare 2 years). I got lucky, the VA paid for it because it was an emergency. The VA hospitals in Miami and West Palm Beach don't do bypass surgery.

Background Vietnam 1968 - 1969 Huey Crewchief Because it is relevant B.S. in Physics (never totally completed Masters program) enough credit hours in Math and Computer Science just because it was needed for the Masters Thank you VA benefits ****** Quadruple heart bybass in 2006 on pump (heart lung machine) eight hours+ for surgery. There is normally some cognitive impairment for a few months and even years but sometimes not. There was no cardiac rehab after surgery, the VA did not have it available. I knew it was important for a good recovery and tried to get it on my own. The local hospital required a prescription for cardiac rehab… so out of pocket that was over $1000. The closest hospital wanted $200 per session 3 days a week for three months. I couldn't afford it. I did not improve very much. The VA would do nuclear stress tests every 2 years which is a good thing to check progress. I look at that stress test as a challenge and have succeded each time because I joined a gym and "studied for the test". I hate the gym but I always go and work out. Just two or three years ago I would have qualified for some percentage of disability, but now, the left ventrical is a normal size and ejection fraction is normal too. METS are 10 or more so 0% or maybe 10% for disability. I hope that keeps the door open for secondaries. I need to SC the cognitive issues from the cardiac surgery Post perfusion syndrome (pumphead) from being on pump for 8 hours during surgery. All my life I have worked as a programmer and systems developer. For the last 15 years I have been self employed and most of that time writing code. Until I had my bybass surgery. Now I can't even calculate a tip for a meal. How do I include this in my claim? The psychiatrist at the Agent Orange exam said the brain issue in the MRI (I paid for it on the outside) should only affect vision and I can fix my brain by exercising it with online programs like Lumosity. Bullshit! This site is great, I made a donation within the first eight hours of my first visit because it is so organized and the members help with all of their experience in these issues. I have also been preparing my initial claim using the ebooks Chris Attig has created as well as his latest package to create that claim. There is a small cost but well worth the shortcut to understand and prepare for the system quickly. Thank you Hadit and every one here. Mike

I could not vote, it was not allowed. I would vote to keep it. It is nice to see people making donations.