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Wait for the letter. See why they have you listed at 100%, it might be a good surprise.

The 3 things you need; 1-incident in service that caused the condition or notes it- you have this 2-current condition-you now have this 3-a connection showing that number 2 is related to/caused by/secondary to number 1 above....this you might not have. That's what an IMO/IME is for.

You are probably in a territory the VA rarely, if ever, ventures into. As a widow of a VET, you have fought tooth and nail against injustice and won when most people would have resigned to their loss, and that probably baffles the VA to no end. I would guess that you are the 1 in a million when it comes to being capable of recovering from the loss you received at the VA's hands, that could turn around and force them to accept that responsibility.

When they have an atmosphere that quantity is a substantial component that overrides quality, its easy for a rater to gloss over information that, if applied in the decision, would change the results. If a vet submits 600 pages of medical records, 200 pages of statements and history, its not a situation that can be glossed over. If the VBA broke out its operation, and put rating officials at the locations where the vets are, and were required to meet that vet, to go over the vets claim, and allow the vet to present the evidence substantiating the claim directly to the rating official at that meeting, the error rates would drop significantly, and I would suspect that the entire process would move along much faster. When a rater has the opportunity to sit down and explain the in's and out's with the veterant, the veteran would have the ability to point out errors and ask questions directly with the rater that could prevent future conflicts and appeals. With the rating official at the local clinic, they could interface with PCP's, C&P examiners, and social workers that are also directly involved with the veteran. Misunderstandings could be solved before the initial rating decisions were complete, and then forwarded to the regional offices for final approval.

lowball is where they downplay the severity of the condition and give you a rating that does not reflect the level of disability in accordance with the code

Pre existing conditions are going to affect a claim, yes. If you went through a traumatic event in service, and had stressors prior to service, and they are not capable of separating the symptoms, then they must include all of the symptoms as SC. They also can assign percentages if they can identify and separate symptoms. Dealing with psychiatric symptoms, I would guess that it would be extremely difficult for them to say which symptom was caused by each separate event.

The 10's on neuropathy are only indicative of a very low level condition. If you had any more than minimal numbness or tingling, you might get these raised. Had an EMG yet? This is how nerves are rated; Paralysis – Complete: This is defined for each nerve a little differently, but basically, it means that the nerve is completely paralyzed and the body part cannot function at all, like if it had been amputated. – Incomplete, severe: If the nerve is not completely paralyzed, and there are symptoms, like poor blood circulation and muscle atrophy, that seriously limit the body part’s ability to function, then it is rated as severe. The condition must be very severe to be rated here. – Incomplete, moderate: If the nerve is not completely paralyzed, and there is tingling, numbness, moderate pain, or other symptoms that definitely and significantly interfere with the ability of the body part to fully function, it is rated as moderate. – Incomplete, mild: If the nerve is not completely paralyzed, and there is only tingling or mild pain in the affected body part, it is rated as mild. There could also be slight or very mild limitations in the movement of the body part, but these limitations would not really affect the overall functioning. Neuritis – Severe: If there are all three of the main symptoms (loss of reflexes, muscle atrophy, and loss of sensation), and they seriously limit the body part’s ability to function, then it is rated as severe. The condition must be very severe to be rated here. – Moderate: If there are one or more of the main symptoms that definitely and significantly interfere with the ability of the body part to fully function, it is rated as moderate. – Mild: If there are one or more of the main symptoms, but they are mild and do not interfere significantly with the ability of the body part to function, it is rated as mild. Neuralgia – Moderate: If there is tingling, numbness, moderate to severe pain, or other symptoms that definitely and significantly interfere with the ability of the body part to function fully, it is rated as moderate. – Mild: If there is only tingling or mild pain in the affected body part, it is rated as mild. There could also be slight or very mild limitations in the movement of the body part, but these limitations would not really affect the overall functioning.

If we fought wars the way they process claims, we would all be in real trouble.

Grrratz!

I wouldn't stress out about the FDC part, I would get the file submitted before the 1 year mark though. File everything that you have that can link to military medical records. File on whatever secondary conditions they caused, if you need to get IMO/IME's later, you still can protect the dates. For effective dates, it is the later date from the of intent to file, or the actual date of entitlement, but there is "an exception in cases where the claim is filed within one year of separation from active military service. For these claims, the effective date will be the day following separation"... If they give you 0%, that's ok, you can appeal it or refile if the condition gets worse later down the road. The idea is don't wait to get it on the books, its much harder later than it is now.

The TDIU will continue during in patient treatment. If you are discharged, it is ended and your original rating goes back into effect. I'm not sure if they can give you IU for convalescence after you get discharged from treatment on PTSD, its a good question. IU for convalescence is 3-6 months and can be extended. On the nursing education, you can get help with this also. Vocational rehab is good for 12 years post discharge (or from the date you are initially given a disability rating) . Go sign up for VR&E. The will also give you a small stipend while you go back to school to recertify or advance your education.

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The newer versions work much better right out of the box than the old ones did.

The new generation of Dragon is set for release on the 18th of August. There are many programs and tutorials for Dragon, and yes it does have a learning curve but it works. The longer its been out, the more its capability to interact within the windows framework has improved.

"it is this examiner's opinion it is at least as likely not (50/50 probability) that symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder were caused by or the result of combat related activities during his military service." That is a pretty good shot. 50/50 means the Vet wins.

Its down. Maybe the North Koreans hacked it.

One would think that, in a non adversarial atmosphere, if you would provide the VA with a board certified specialists opinion, that they would have no need to pursue an opinion of any other provider, as long as the opinion is not blatantly fraudulent. With the experience that millions of claims tying injuries to benefit conclusions provides, it is fairly simple to come to a conclusion that xx in a military record doing xx after discharge over a specific time frame is a reasonable claim that should not require an elevated level of investigation if there is already a quality opinion on the issue in hand. When the RO goes shopping for opposing opinions, the non adversarial nature of the claim is removed. I would suppose that this same tactic is used over other issues as well, seeing that such a high number of appeals succeed after initial rating denials.

Be careful with hyperextension of the lower spine. That's where you lay on your stomach and bend backwards. I was sent to Phys Therapy, and this is what they had me do. I'm not s young un', 55, but the caution is valid at any age. When they had me do this extension exercise, they used an excert from McKenzie self help books. Lay on stomach, keep pelvis to the floor, so you don't do it like normal pushups, then you push up and lock your elbows straight. The effect is like a sit up, but your hips stay as close the floor/on the floor. Problems I had could have been prevented with a simple x ray, they would have seen if I had facet or disc space problems and they would have known that I should not be doing any type of hyperextension exercise at all, but they didn't do that. My VA PCP didn't want to take the time to properly diagnose this, so she referred me to Phys Therapy for evaluation. That's where they started me on extension exercises. When I did this over a period of 2 weeks, I started getting tingling down my left leg. After 4 weeks, the tingling turned to twitching, that ran from inside/above my left knee to my toes (my toes would be twitching so much that it would keep me awake at night). After 8 weeks, muscle weakness started to set in. At 10 weeks, I stopped exercise and walked in to see an MD because of sciatic pain in both legs set in, the muscle weakness turned into foot drop. After I stopped, the condition kept advancing, and by 16 weeks I could not walk more than 1/2 block without muscle exhaustion in both legs, and had to use a prosthetic (AFO) so I would not trip over my toes when my left leg swung forward. An xray would have revealed that I had a collapsed disc between L5 and S1, and this led to a deformity and sever arthritis in my facet joints. The result was that I had 3 more disc's that had been forced out to the rear, and the facets caused foramina stenosis that was causing damage to the nerves at 3 levels. 6 months after this happened I got an EMG (ouch, needles jammed deep into many muscles) that said this was a chronic condition (more than 90 days). I'm not sure if the damage will be reversed, nor are the 3 surgeons I have spoken to. So, the moral of the story is, get a proper medical evaluation before you do anything about your low back pain. It might be as simple as a sore muscle or strained tendon, but if it is a herniated disc, or you are older and could have additional complications to deal with (facet joint issues like I did), its best to be safe, with both eyes wide open, than to go in blind and injure yourself far worse.

The Choice program is being held hostage by the VA. The program is actually capable of doing what it was designed for, but until the VA providers get on the ball and do their part, its not going to work. I fought them over this for 2 weeks before they finally conceded and gave me the referral. If the VA scheduling does not put that referral in, the Choice Program has no clue about what you need. They should be required to submit all appointment data to the Choice Program, and they should automatically trigger the Choice Option immediately upon qualification. You should not have to wait for some clerk to get some supervisor to get some doctor to authorize it. When they do get the referral to the right place, they actively work to get you an outside appointment in your local area with not problems. That part of the program works.

http://www.va.gov/opa/marriage/ Lots of answers.

Don't think they cover anything before the date you got married. And Congratulations!!

There is a whole group of conditions for the spine that only get 1 rating. Both the neck, and the rest of the spine (thoracic, lumbar and sacrum), are rated as 2 separate joints. Here are the spine condition names and codes: Code 5237: Lumbosacral or cervical strain—a generic label for back painCode 5238: Spinal stenosis—the spinal column narrows and presses on the spinal cord or nervesCode 5239: Spondylolisthesis or segmental instability—when a vertebra slips out of positionCode 5240: Ankylosing spondylitis—an arthritic disease that causes the spinal joints to freeze in placeCode 5241: Spinal fusion—the vertebrae are surgically fused togetherCode 5235: Vertebral fracture or dislocation—the bones of the spine break or slip out of alignment due to a traumatic event like a car accident. Any generic spinal bone injury would be coded here.This isn't all, DDD/IVDS and other things like foraminal stenosis, etc, all combine in the spine rating. They use 2 means to rate it, ROM is the most popular, and incapacitating events directed by the Dr. (which they never do anymore, its outdated treatment). Outside of the spine, you can also be rated for the nerve conditions of the lower back that radiculopathy causes, based on the conditions that the nerve impingement/damage causes, like drop foot, burning pain, leg and foot and toe weakness, circulation and muscle atrophy. If the nerve is damaged at the L5, the foot can be substantially affected. You can be totally disabled with a 100% rating through the combined ratings that come from spine conditions (and the secondary effects). This is not to mention effects over the long run in the cervicel spine (neck), hips, and knee's, all of which can be rated separately if they are affect by the spine condition and secondary nerve conditions.

Get a letter from your employer detailing what special accomodations are allowed to you for your back problem, if any.

Was more info on your knee's in your medical records? He could go off that.

I used to get that symbols clash when I was sleeping. Put me on my feet many times from a dead sleep. I started to figure that its not a physical thing, I get startled and exited from it, my heartbeat goes from 0-100 in less time than than a Porche, but its in my head. I was thinking it was a spirit thing for the longest time, so I studied things of the spirit, and it did not go away. I tried drugs as well, but they only slowed me down when I jumped up... I ended up figuring it was an effect that I experienced from like dream walking. At a certain point, as I leave my body in a dream state, the separation of my non-physical psyche from my body is what creates the sound. Its not audible, and cant be recorded, and only I am aware of its existence. The noise is short, sudden, and I cannot will it to recur, nor can I predict its occurance. But I am in control of my facilities, so to speak. I am a spiritual creature in a physical body, and as such,am ignorant of the spiritual nature that is me. So I slow down, instead of responding with fear when this happens, I take a deep breath and gather my facilities about myself, and observe the conditions that exist when they happen. So far, I have never been in danger when I experience this, so after so many times, I my self must admit that this fear reaction is not logical.