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Andyman73
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Posts posted by Andyman73
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Personally I haven't been able to get there with non-combat PTSD. Most of my SCDs are a direct or indirect result of when I fell down the stairs at boot camp. Not only was I hurt, had to use crutches for 8 days, but also subjected to additional USMC Drill Instructor "love" because of it. This lead to depression and anxiety and several suicide attempts and alcohol abuse that ended up with an Article 15.
I was in constant fear of being put on report over my 6yr enlistment due to not being able to keep up during PT runs and such. I had to go to sick call every time I fell too far off the run pace, just to keep off the bad list. Even then it didn't work, I spent 30 days on remedial pt, which got me several weeks of light duty because my knees hurt so bad.
Current DX is for MDD...that was DX by VA dr., but not SC because of bad C&P exam. The DX was made about 5 months before the bad exam took place. 24 years has passed since the initial injuries occurred.
So, someone please tell me....would that fall down the stairs on my 5th day of Boot Camp be the "qualifying event" for a non-combat PTSD? My VA shrink never wanted to do a PTSD workup on me, even though I had asked him to. He didn't think it was necessary. Not only that, he recently reduced my frequency of treatment to once every other month.
Do I have something here? I did some looking into non-combat ptsd, but end up going in circles. Maybe I'm just wasting everybody's time, eh?
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15 hours ago, jfrei said:
Somewhere I had a few questions this was me venting and ranting about this maze they call the VA system of i could get some feedback to calm my anxiety or even to make me laugh would be greatly appreciated.
I would tell you to call David Bowie, maybe he could guide you through the "Labrynth" known as the VA, but he's gone on to the big concert stage in the sky. Maybe tie a guide wire to a belt loop, so you can find your way back out before the Minotaur gets you. Remember, resistance is futile, you will be assimilated!
Keep this in mind, you really aren't going crazy, the VA is set up to intentionally drive us out of our minds with the whole byzantine way they do things. Of course it does help to be just a little bit crazy.
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Amy,
I wanted to speak to the other part of your post. Daddy duty called me away earlier.
You don't need to pay anybody on Hadit.com. Many of us have been, or, are still in your shoes, as far as the emotional jungle that you're in the middle of. I can't tell you how I feel, not because it's a secret, but this is your parade and I'm just a spectator on the sidelines.
You will hear from some folks on here that can and will help you, Gastone, asknod, Buck52, BroncoVet, and Vync and Flores97 too. Oh, and one very special lady, not a Vet but widow of 2, who paddled up "Niagara Falls" without a paddle and flattened it out...the grand dame Ms. Berta.
Me, this is what I'm good at, I think, self deprecating humor and supporting words of encouragement. Oh, and I'll add you to my prayers too.
Andy
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Amy,
Man, that just throws my whole line of thought right out the window! Hmmm, wait, I got it! I think...okay let's go at it from a different angle.
You can try the contact us option on VA.gov website. It brings up the IRIS, which is the VAs electronic info and question request program. I would say to use the complaint option.
There will be several drop down options, chose the one the best describes your type of issue. Ya I know, choices are pretty limited. The complaint option goes right to an upper level supervisor or manager type person.
Exlplain your situation as best as you can, start with the medical issue that you were experiencing that day. Tell about your exchange with the worker that said to go to the ER. Give an overview of your ER visit. Then tell about when you got the bill, how it effected you, emotionally and physically. They need to understand that the VAs lack of action is making you worse.
Finish by going over all the steps you've taken, trying to contact the different offices at the VA and such.
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Amy,
Do you have a Myhealthevet accout? IF so, log on and see if there are notes from that day they told you to go to the ER. Hopefully that's in there. I know they log when they call me for any reason, on my account. If that is in yours, then you download and print out, take it to your local VAMC and talk to patient services, show them where the VA directed you to your local ER. You were just doing what the VA told you to do. You should not owe one red cent for this, at all.
Andy
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seminoles,
Thanks for replying, while I do have the odd migraine now and then, and at least once while on AD, I was more so looking for info on headaches of the lesser regular variety. Again, thanks.
I saw somewhere yesterday, before I started this thread, that neck injuries are one of the most common causes of pain related headaches. And boy let me tell you, this is a constant issue for me. I have to crack my neck all the time, it feels tight and cramped up all the time. Sometimes I get these sharp jabs of pain that cause a near automatic response of neck cracking, otherwise within a minute of the sharp pain a headache starts to form.
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Hello Vets and Berta!!!
Does anybody out there in Hadit land have any experience with non-TBI related headaches? I suffered headaches nearly everyday while on AD. And still do. I never thought it was anything more than stress. But now I know better, stress does cause headaches, but so do physical injuries.
I complained of neck pain after I fell down the stairs, but it was less noticeable than the pain in my knees and back. I do plan on telling the orthopedic specialist when I go, next Monday.
Any advice or comments are welcome. Thanks
Andy
Semper Fi
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Berta,
The GERD ran rampant until I started using my Cpap after being DXd with SA. I had taken the NSAIDs for 15 plus years before being taken off due to the hypertension. I think the dr said the NSAIDs add 10-15 points to your bp rate.
I still have gerd issues, so I think I will follow your sage advice and file that claim.
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If I had known the diuretic effects of caffeine, I would have drank some coffee or sodas, during study hall, would have taken a lot less time to take that test!!! LOL!
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Your bilaterals get added up first, so you would have 43% then the bilateral factor of 10% is 4.3, which gets added on in the traditional math kinda way, so that would make it 47, rounding to 50% for payout.
Then you add your next highest one to that, and so on.
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Berta,
So glad you posted that about the NSAIDS!
I was prescribed 800mg horse pill "Vitamin M" motrin for a lot of my 6 years in the Marines, and then 500s via the VA for many years after that. A few years ago my PCP switched me to tylenol due to NSAIDS side effect of boosting your BP. I suffered horrible GERD like symptoms for a long long time, but always assumed it was due to my diet, and not my meds.
If I don't have a DX for the GERD, how do I claim it? Do I write up as GI issues secondary to what?
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Good times had by all!
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Calibay,
By the nature of PTSD that grants you a single 100%, the symptoms would make it near impossible to work, which is why the PTSD was granted(hypothetically speaking) at 100%. Now if you get 100% extra schedular(?) which is to say your total combined SCDs adds up to 100%, then work is possible. Gastone will have a better answer for you, but I think I got inside the ballpark.
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Vync,
Sometimes studying for those tests was an all day affair! Lol! Talk about seeing "yellow"!
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Did your VA dr DX the kidney damage or a private Dr? Your treatment records should show the DX and what the doctor believes is the cause. You may find some of that on the myhealthyvet blue button download option. Also via your local VAMC ROI records office can print out VA treatment records as well. These will be much quicker and will give you a solid starting point while waiting for your C-file, which may take many moons to arrive. I've been waiting since May for my C-file.
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CaliBay,
First off, checking ebennies will drive you insane, if you do it too often...try once a week, like every Monday. Ebenefits is notorious for inaccuracies and slowness. Many on here will tell you that they have seen some pretty crazy things on their own ebennies accounts.
And welcome to Hadit!!!
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Update, since my last post. Dad and I texted each other recently and I asked a few moderate questions about how things are going.
He had no new news to share. So then I told him how the powers that be are seriously considering adding hypertension to the AO presumptive list. And that they would be voting on it in the new year. He was quite pleased to hear that. I'm slightly concerned what may be lurking in his veins. Some years ago he had a rough couple of years fighting the hbp that was resisting nearly all measures to control it.
I asked about his Malaria, which he said had hospitalized him way back when he was fresh out of Nam. And I told him I remembered a time when I was about 10 yes old and he spent a week in bed. Was very different because Dad being sick enough to stay home just never happened, ever. That was when we kids learned that Malaria was one of the gifts Vietnam had shared with him.
I told him it was a 10% rating for inactive Malaria, to which he was pleasantly surprised to hear.
So then he asked me where I am getting my information. I told him it was from here, Hadit.com. A website created by a Vet, for Vets to help each other in our claims battles with the VA.
He wrote it down so he could come here when he had some free time. So it looks like he is ready to begin seeking what he deserves.
I hope we can continue to move forwards in building a better relationship.
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CC,
Got my appointment on the 12th, but not with the same orthopedic group that I mentioned earlier.
The new group actually wants to see me as a new patient, and not send me right to pain management.
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While there are good VSOs out there, nobody knows who they are, unless they are actually being represented by them. As you are finding out, most are only in it for themselves, and yes, the organizations are deep in bed with the VA...since that is where they get most of their money from.
My own experience was with a group whose initials nearly mirror the initials of the VA. They didn't send me letters or documents that they told me where in the mail. Also when they recommended a course of action on my claims...it was always deny deny deny. So they helped me by standing in front of me, acting as a bouncer for the VA, preventing me from gaining entry into their club of claims granted.
Many of us here have similar experiences with VSOs. A few have had positive experiences, tho. I'm sure some on here can and will give you better advice and guidance, but as for me...your best option is not with any VSO.
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Crabcake(food or mood?), so often I just don't say what I feel, and I don't mean negative comments, but positive ones too, to avoid being taken the wrong way. Since I have had the unfortunate pleasure of having positive comments cost me more than I could afford...around town where I live, I tend to keep most comments short and to the point, it saves too many questions not being asked back at home. My wife lived all her life here, probably had 25% of the locals kids in daycare, or knew them from school...At least growing up, when ever my Dad asked about someone(everyone knew him at the last base he was stationed at, since he was acting brigade SgtMaj for BG Clark) he was just curious who this girl was or that girl was. Not so much at home...So much easier to explain away why I didn't talk to this person or that one...then it is to explain why I said what ever I am being accused of saying.
Thanks for letting me off the hook, it's not what I'm used to, so it's hard for me to process. The way I see it, most folks know me as being my wife's husband, not for me. And I don't have roots here, so they don't know me from before either. So I just limp around, they can see my USMC hat on my head, or license plate on my car. I smile, hold the door open, and so on, and keep my mouth shut.
Oh no, CC, you are spot on!!! You are not imagining things, the VA goes out of their way(probably in their training manuals)to not see anything that isn't specific to the cause or reason for the images. I'm quite sure my bunion was noticeable in the past xrays, but they only "saw" it when the xray was specific for it. Same with the X-rays and MRI of my entire spine. Funny how the Drs could see the SI issues when they were looking at it, but other Drs only saw the issues with the area from L1 through S1. And it's the same set of X-rays and MRI.
So, yes, I will be explaining to them how the VA has been using the same set of images for the past 2 years, for different issues.
Oh, here's one you'll find curious, when I was at my C&P for my lower back, for increase, in March of '15, the Doc noted that she saw issues in the then new X-ray, that were also seen on X-rays I had done during the last 6 months of my enlistment...back in 1998...as part of my original VA claim.
I will most definitely keep you posted. Won't be able to get in till the new year, they are booked solid till then.
Oh, um.....Dr notes from pain managment, referring to Chiropratic care mentioned long term hip misaligment, unequal leg length due to pelvic something or other...can't remember, but just popped to mind. Funno!
You have a happy Thanksgiving too! You and your family!
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22 hours ago, chomperjones said:
Thank you andyman. A while back I sent off for my records to be retrieved from the NPRC. They cent me a letter back saying that my records arent there. medical or personnel. Any other ideas??
You do have the option of writing/emailing the "office of the POTUS" and in a very respectable manner as for his assistance in locating your records. Make sure to say that you already tried the NPRC, and they said your records are not there. And be sure to thank him/his office for any assistance in this manner.
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Well, I done what broncovet said to do, earlier this year and .... just added to my own misery. But I mistakenly thought that an in service event, followed by a complaint to PCP inside the first 12 months out time period, would have been enough to link a new diagnosis to the injury. That new DX was an inside job, but we all know how most of our PCPs are loath to say whether or not our DXs are SC or not. Not with out glaringly obvious evidence.
Take it from me, Juan, I have erred on the side of ignorance, which cost me $180K over the past 18 years since my EAS. So take Broncovet's advice and file those claims.
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You can google how to get your all your military records, it should show the website for the National Records Center, and a link there will take you right to the page to request your records, they should have all of them from your pre-enlistment physical at the MEPS station, till your exit physical at the end of your enlistment.
But don't expect to get them over night, can take a few months.
Ptsd non combat
in PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Claims
Posted
Buck,
I do get it, I really do, but since I already have a denied claim for MDD due to that horrible C&P exam, and now it's in the 4-5 year NOD life cycle, can I still file a non C PTSD claim?
I do have several SCDs that originated from my event, the fall down the stairs, and then the effects of the injuries during my enlistment afterwards.
And since my VA shrink doesn't want to entertain the idea of PTSD, do I need the DX to file the claim? Or can that be DXd during the C&P exam?
And what if I get that same examiner that screwed me over, again? I'd be double done in...
Stuck between a rock and a hard place...