stillhere

Well as hard as it is going to be I would recommend you watch football all weekend or go fishing until you get your award letter and then post what it says. Using the 800# for half an answer and then trying to read something in to something is very hard on the brain and stress. Look at the good side you know you were (if 800 is right) 30% so you have no more copays and the VA for your meds.

Thanks OK I gotcha now. I am not sure this can even be done without the VA somehow granting you a higher % for the disabilities that you have. Maybe the lawyer knows more about this than me and I guess that would not be hard. I was like you and having 80% for a few years and then actually going up to 90% after an award for 50% PTSD. I could not understand how or whenever I was going to get to 100% because I wanted to keep working too so IU was out of the question. Well last year I just could not take it anymore and filed for an increase and got 100% for my heart condition and actually got house bound at SMC-s because my other conditions were well over 60%. I do stay busy now and read and post here a bit but I have not worked since April. I am letting the dr's run my life for as long as I have left now. I do wish you the best and maybe someone else will come along to help you. I would like to add that IU was created by the VA because of this type of situation.

I agree somewhat Chuck but I am waiting to see if my claim will be rated and approved under the presumatives of AO and the IHD nehmer. I am inclined to think knowing all that has gone down on my case that the VA may grant back maybe to 04 and if that happens I do plan to get the lawyer involved. If they approve back to 03 as I request I will not even though their way of treating me made me feel like there was NO heart problem there at all. Hence the reason I did not go to the hospital right away and actually waited until Monday afternoon! Berta and I have kicked this around for a while so I guess waiting another couple 3 weeks will not kill me I hope. I would much rather do it this way than get into a bunch of court casing and lawyer this and that. I also suffer with PTSD the past few years and do not play nice at all! But thanks for your thoughts and john's very clear!

I am not sure what it is you are asking. Your profile shows you are at 90% and that is well over request % to file for IU. Are you just asking for an increase to 100%?

I wonder on this staging stuff. In 2002 echo with LVE 50% In 2003 heart pain/shortness of breathe after xray and walking treadmill denied. 2004 appeal denied again after xray and walking treadmill 2005 appealed C&P Sept.05 denied walking treadmill test xray. 2005 Oct. 2 heart attacks over weekend blockages of 100%,70% and 50% two stents placed damaged heart at 40% Granted heart disease for MI only back to date of Heart attack! I have put in for an earlier effective date to 2003 based on the 2002 test and the lousy testing the VA did! I could have very easily died because of their inept testing procedures. Which I might add have been changed in the past two years.

Way to go! The whole ball of wax! Heres wishing you a long life!

The link below is to the new form questionnaire for VA claims supporting IHD. http://www.vba.va.gov/disabilityexams/IHD.pdf

The success stories that came from another site were actually claims that were for heart issues but were not for an award for IHD per se. Although the awards did have a deferred nehmer part to them. I don't think it was due to telling the truth I think the posters that said they had gotten award letters did not understand fully what the awards were for. I am as guilty as they are for believing and reposting what they said! Roanoke, VA

If and whenever you get an answer from a Iris at the bottom of it is all the info needed as to where to send a fax or letter. Your RO's fax number can also be obtained by calling the 800# and asking.

Got an Iris answer from the RO yesterday and they still insist that they will do nothing with my claim as far as decision and award/deny until the full 60 day CRA period is over and the new final regs go into effect. This is really just a bunch of hog was on their part! The FINAL rules are already out there and the congress is out until sometime in November! The RO's should start sending out awards and decisions NOW!

Doesn't sound like a very thorough VSO or maybe he /she is. If he looked at the vets records before answering. But if there is something in his records he should have told the vet why.

Not sure if this will persuade you to consider the in house program or not but it will help your claim for increase and you also can file for the 100% for the month or so you are in.

If you are on SSDi you get Medicare after a 24 month wait. I don't know of another way.

Eligibility issues of course would need to be upheld just like with the VA. Joe shmoe who never served would not be eligible for VA disability. So the requirements would all need to be met by whomever is filing BUT if it was a vet and he/she was already 100% by VA then it would be automatic for SSDI. All this bill would do in the end would mean the vet would not have to go through pretty much the same evaluation again. The only down fall I see in accepting something like this is someone coming up with the big idea lets make ssdi and VA the same!!

The link below goes to the bill that was proposed last year by Sarbanes from MD and his 74 co-sponsors for some reason it has not been acted on yet and is sitting at the committee "ways and means" I think this would help a lot of veterans including myself who is worn out fighting with the VA for their rating and then have to fight the SS for SSDI for basically the same condition. I would like to see this passed this year. If you agree please send a email to your senator/congress person and ask for their support on this. Thank you, Stillhere http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.4054:

I never have or for that matter will understand why SS grants a SSDI claim and still makes the client wait 24 months for Medicare! Anyone know the logic behind that? I would think this would be a great issue to bring up with the congress critters. My argument would be if someone can not work because of a condition that is going to need treatment. Why in ---'s name does the SS deny medicare? This could end up killing a few and probably already has!

About the 3-4 weeks ago the lady handling this locally called and wanted the address and phone number for the Vet center where I go for treatment for my PTSD. I gave it to her and asked if she was aware that I was 100% + housebound rated by the VA since Oct. 09 she said yes but wanted to have all the info in front of her before proceeding. Now if someone wants to be honest like me! I feel I can still do some things BUT not anything like I used to and with the way I deal with stress these days would probably end up killing myself. This procedure has me down a bit and I remember talking to a cousin around the same age with disabilities and he flat out said he would never file for SSDI because he does not want people looking over his shoulder in case he feels good enough to try some work. I guess this will be settled one way or the other but not even assured how I will act when it is???

Hmmm just went to the SS website to see about my status and it said not available sorry for the inconvenience. Is everybody getting this or just me? Seems strange but I have heard like nothing in the past couple of weeks.

If you are a female and served in Vietnam then you need to contact a Veteran Service Officer and see if a claim is possible. I have not worked or have much knowledge with the benefits for siblings but I do know the VA is only acknowledging the children of women veterans that served in country. On the men side the VA is only acknowledging spinal bifida. Hope this helps.

I would recommend to ALL veterans either using a VSO (new or old) to pay attention to their claim and make themselves aware of all the ins and outs dealing with the VA as possible. Taking papers in to any individual and just saying hear you go is just never a good idea! It is your life they are going to effect with the outcome. Always stay informed and get everything in writing!!

Just to take this a little further. I sent a fax to my RO on Sept. 24th to withdraw a claim as noted above. Today I received an acknowledgement letter that the above claim has been withdrawn per my instruction of Sept. 24th!Today is oct.6th Now as I have always mentioned ALWAYS keep copies and get a response from them in WRITING If you do those simple few things I guarantee you will have something sturdy to stand on that hey can not defeat!!

Berta I think we will see each and every RO doing what they want in regard to these claims and leave veterans twisting in the wind. I hope not but there is the opportunity here for this confusing type condition to be manipulated to many extremes. I would recommend any heart patient to point blank ask their cardio doc are my symptoms Ischemic? If not why? And get it in writing!

I have been told that this is not working right. I also was told to call the 800# listed as help for the ebenefits site and they will give you the proper password to get in. I must warn you I have not tried this and just gave up.

Roly what you are going through is the norm and nothing that all of us on appeal to the BVA are going through. My form now has been in since June 09 and has not moved one iota since then. Patience is the only thing that I can see here on our side. If you have other issues I would go a head and submit claims like I did they will get worked and the appeal will just have to wait. While my appeal has been in I have been awarded for other issues and I am at 100%+housebound now and the appeal just sits. Getting the congress critters involved just slows down what you are trying to do, and that is speed up your claim. Wish I could tell you different but that is the case.

The VA in their last letter is really trying to help you with closing this claim for disfiguring of the skull. Point they are using is what is it you want to claim? In other words what do you want? You if I read correctly have been granted 50% already and you are not satisfied and do not feel that is enough. Tell them what % you feel it should be and then hopefully they will get this moving along. I would submit a statement such as how the disfigurement effects your day to day life and what you have to go through and end it with you feel this is worth a comp of 80% or whatever you feel and then let the VA move on this. What do you consider should be your rating??