stillhere

Just ask your PCP and say you need help. That is all I did and she gave Viagra at 4 pills a month!

He is a number 4 Deserter if nothing has been finalized from the Army. He could always request his records from the archives and see what turns up there. You don't mention how long he served or during what time period. If he went home on RR I think it had to be under emergency conditions to even get RR to home but not sure. If he has waited this long to clear this up another few months should be no big deal. I hated carter with his amnesty BS so I guess you can figure how I feel about him getting any kind of benefits but that is just me. The only way you are going to get anything cleared up is to get him to come forward and get his records and go from there.

I am really beginning to wonder what is up with these IHD awards and money in the bank. Many of the vets if not all that I am reading about filed in Jan. 2010 I also am reading where many vets not just me are concerned because of the fact they filed in Oct. 09 Any comments or explanation?

Expediting your claim do to surgery coming up I believe can be done by sending your RO A letter explaining the situation. I don't believe there is a form but if so some one will come along and correct me. If you do pass your wife will have to apply for DIC but the claims that are in now if granted the compensation and all the retro will go to her. Make sure she is aware of all your claims that are in and if you are using a VSO leave her the contact info. Now as far as your operation I feel you will be fine! These are done all the time without any complications so I would rest a little easy. It is very important to have it done but again they are done all the time with success! now go and enjoy your Veteran's Day you certainly deserve it!

You should have had an entrance exam that included a hearing test. When you got out you should have had an exit exam, if it shows that your hearing suffered while you were in. The VA will SC and rate it per the hearing loss %. Really quite simple but it does have to be in writing.

I believed in my claim and felt it was just do to time before I was awarded what I felt I was deserved to be. By awarding me "housebound" SMCs I was floored. My confidence in dealing with the VA is led by just giving them what they say they need to approve and pointing that out in my medical evidence clearly. IF you have done that and believe in it convincing the rater should be OK.

Make sure that you do (nicely) tell them where the records are from though.

Being a PTSD sufferer does not help dealing with the VA. I miss stuff all the time dates, appointments and what not. I can't tell you the number of times my memory of late has let me down. That and the fact that stress just seems to blow me away is if not the main reason is one of the big reasons I don't like communicating with people. I feel that I am always taken wrong and don't understand why. I have been able to win my awards with the VA but it really has taken a toll on me and my heart condition I feel. I wish I could trust people to do the right thing by me but I don't!

Well glad you got his records! Make sure you print out a copy for yourselves before sending them along to the RO. I would even make a copy of the CD to send along and keep the one you have. Hope things start rolling along for him now!

Berta, Do you get a feel from the articles that they are not going by dates? I mean like vets that filed right at Oct. 09 when the first sniff came out about this and vets who just got wind of this and first time filing? I was one of those that was denied in the past as you and filed right away but I am reading and seeing vets that are getting award that filed later and some for the first time. I am feeling like the VA is going through and cherry picking claims to work and those that are as you say complex sitting them aside? Do you feel that way? Maybe not in your case are you worried about any day or breathe could be your last but many of us vets like me with 100% and tag on PTSD dealing with the added stress of waiting on this is causing problems with me! I may have to take a break from some of this for a few days. While I do enjoy reading of those that have been awarded reading that they filed after me does not help my condition any! Add to that and the fact that I have heard nothing from SS in over 3 1/2 months and I am getting myself all worked up. Take care and good luck to all our Veterans and remember be thankful on Veteran's Day!

Do you have a VSO? If not didn't you wonder as to why you did not hear anything? Anyhow make sure you put it in writing the circumstances as you believe them to be and keep a copy. Either send it to your RO or Fax it too! That is about all that I know of at this point. Oh one other thing ask the RO to send you a copy of everything they sent out and where it was sent. Of course give them the right address. If you have an access to a fax machine ask to have them faxed.

I have always understood that if something is noted in your SMR and you have continued treatment after it is Service Connected. I don't believe a time period would apply under this situation.

I have always complied whenever the VA asked me for anything to support my claims. Not sure about your VSOs advice at this point and not knowing why he feels that way. That is an interesting take on dealing with the VA. Ignore??

very glad for your award that will benefit you and your family at this time! But like Berta sorry to hear about the severe condition you are in. Good luck to you and God Bless!

It really comes up in my initial claim of 2003 which I hope gets settled sooner than later. In 2003 I claimed DM2 and chest pains and burning and numb feet based on exposure to Agent Orange. I was granted DM2 which I already had a DX for an PN lower dxed by my CnP and ED. On my chest pains they denied saying that after a simple treadmill test I did not have heart disease. Even though they had a letter from a echo gram that I had a 50% LFE. I appealed late 04 and after another CnP in Sept.05 I was denied again. In Oct. less than 30 days later I had 2 heart attacks over a weekend and had to have ER angioplasty and stent placements with blockages of 100% 70% and another at 50%. This is the claim I have in for Nemher and an earlier effective date of 2003. From the get go the VA has denied all the claims and appeals as heart disease and stated they could not find any???

Berta, I agree and I will tell you why. After reading many decisions from BVA and other sources many times a vet will claim a condition like burning feet, or pain in chest. Now the VA will take these symptoms and send the vet to a CnP and have the doctor diagnose what is causing these conditions. The doctor would then come up with PN (for lower) or in the case of the chest pain angina or heart disease. A vet not being a doctor does not have to specifically say the name of a disease to be awarded for it just the symptoms and then be DXed by a doctor. I think what the pages 117-120 are addressing is this same fact and that it is on the VA and their doctors to supply the vet with a proper diagnosis and then deny or approve based on the medical evidence. If a veteran complains to the VA about being in Vietnam and hearing about the agent orange junk and is feeling lousy. He should be examined and told all of his conditions that at the time were presumptive to AO and told to file. If the vet does and there is also the diagnose of IHD/CAD then that should be the date that Nehmer goes back to. I certainly hope this is what you were asking and I am right! This would help many vets that have used VA in the past and did not file when they were Dx because a disease was not on the list at the time.

Basically it is like this. The call center this Iris is generated from is looking at your screen of your case and saying they do not have a definitive answer to give you. The rest of it is just generic BS. I got one of these a while back and they said the same thing they will have to get back to me when they hear from the RO. They did send me another email telling me my status a couple of days later. Hang in there hopefully you will get one too. The Nehmer claims are taking longer because they are more complex. They are essentially like an appeal. Hope this helps!

I read this this morning and it while a good definition of where the VA is I did not particularly like it much. The VA has a glitch in its computer program and they can not change/fix it so the claims could have been worked and vets told they had been rated and so told what their payment will be in Nov. 2010??? Just another way to make vets wait if you ask me! Now that they have waited they are saying OH wait a minute these denied claims are really complex? They really do create their on problems. I am not satisfied with this the way it is and I hope NVSLP puts a little bit of heat under thier buns to get them moving! Excuses are a dime a dozen with the VA solutions are nowhere to be found! How many more deserving veterans must die without their proper healthcare and compensation?? I would suggest that all veterans that suffer from heart disease sign up for health care and at least get some help!

DId he die of a SC disease or one that would be SC under agent orange or for that matter ANY of the VA presumatives?? That would be the main question. Also is she aware she can keep the last months payment from the month he died? If she can meet the means test which it appears she can she would be eligible under that. Good luck and I am sure others will be by!

They are being handled in a priority basis so lets hope it will get done in the next few months. Take it easy and hang around to get it!!

It seems the ONLY way they VA knows how to get something done IS TO MAKE SOME VET WAIT! They continue to try and pit one group of vets against another because of their your sighted it ways. Hang in there and yours will get done!

I am not getting much out of them these days except their generic answer about the IHD claims are priorty now and they plan to clear them up. Also read where the VA closed or finished over 100 thousand claims in Sept. they are saying that they will do over 1 mil this past year!

I did hear of a couple and one went back to 2001 at I think 30%. I did another Iris on my last one telling them that the VA posted a news brief so I wanted to know what was going on with mine. They just came back with another generic BS answer. The vet that got the award letter said the money should be in the bank by the 15th!

Berta, There is information breakdown for each RO you just need to click on the tab at the bottom that says arrogation or something like that and it will come up just like in the past. There are only two tabs so click on the one to the right.

By the way your profile has 0 disability??