MKAH

Hi everyone. My BVA appeal for PTSD-MST on Vets.gov was just updated with a curious message as follows: "Current Status The Board made a decision on your appeal The Board of Veterans’ Appeals sent you a decision on your appeal. Here’s an overview: Please see your decision for more details. What happens next? The Veterans Benefits Administration completes the remand instructions They may contact you to request more evidence or medical exams as needed. When they’ve completed the remand instructions, they’ll determine whether or not they can grant your appeal. If not, your appeal will return to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals for a new decision. 16–29 monthsThe Veterans Benefits Administration usually takes between 16 and 29 months to complete remand instructions." One footnote: I have never received a C&P for PTSD-MST. I am surprised the BVA has updated "The Board made a decision on your appeal", and then state the need to "complete(s) the remand instructions" #1) Is this pretty common? #2) When they mail me this decision, I assume I'll be able to read the remand instructions? Thank You

Hey Vync, " Have you checked this out yet?" I did follow the links on the VA.gov URL that you suggested. The closest location from where I live is San Francisco, roughly 5.5 hours away (each direction). I called them anyway, and they said the program is not available in every city, but they were very polite and professional. I could tell that they would much rather have been able to given me better news. Your suggestion of checking at my local VSO is a good one and I will do that today. " It sounds like you are unable to work. It might be worth also exploring TDIU and/or SSDI. " I am not service connected for Menier's disease, so TDIU is out for me. I did not start having symptoms until pretty recently (well after my ETS from the military) , so I think connecting Menier's to military is out of the question? Currently, I am receiving SSDI for PTSD-MST with a case review of (MIE) 3 years with a start date of July 2016. Interesting that my SSDI was approved after only 45 days from the date of submission which included my VA medical file. Since being diagnosed and treated for Menier's disease, I have contemplated updating my SSDI claim information to include that, but I am not sure if I should do that now or see if I get better closer to the expiration of my PTSD-MST SSDI review period? Any suggestions on that point? "Your profile mentions being SC for bilateral hearing loss, so if you suffer from vertigo and cerebellar gait issues more than once a week, you may qualify. " Yes, I am SC 50% bilater hearing loss and 10% tinnitus and it is getting worse every year. Yes, even after TTG ablation treatment for my Menier's, I still have more than one huge episode per week and stagger around like a drunk with a cane the rest of the time. The worse part right now, is uncontrolled head shaking due to the ablation treatment. I'm hoping that this settles down at some point, but its been going on since my first TTG treatment. The TTG treatment has reduced the severity of my Menier's episode which I am grateful for but has unfortunately further damaged my hearing. Sine I have not seen any medical or scientific studies linking NIHL to Menier's, I am not planning on perusing that a SC course of action. The fact is, this disease is such a mystery that no one seems to have a real grasp on what actually causes it. Vync, were you having vertigo attacks while in service, or did this occur later on? Thanks again Vync, Off to the VSO now to see of I can get information regarding a ride(s) to the VA Dr. office :)

Several months ago the VA diagnosed me with severe Menier's disease which required Trans Typanic Gentamicin Ablation. This treatment was performed in San Francisco SFVAMC and have been approved for NON-VA CARE for vestibular rehabilitation therapy for three months twice per week, in the city where I live. I am absolutely unable to drive due to the Menier's and/or the TTGA treatment. The VA ENT has approved and I am now have a parking placard so that I can limit the distance I need to travel with my cane, in order to go to the grocery store and my VA appointments. My wife has had to get a job in order for us to make ends meet, and it is very difficult for me to find someone that can take me, then pick me up at from Vestibular rehab appointments. I contacted to local VAMC travel office and they do not offer a shuttle service for local transportation. I have also contacted to DAV and they also do not have service available where I live. Question: Should I take a bus or maybe an Uber to my VR appointments during the next three months, and submit them to travel? Or am am on my own regarding this matter? Thank You

I am so happy that you have made it thru this process. Many years ago when I was rated for hearing loss, I received a direct deposit notification from my bank and about two weeks later I got the brown envelope explaining the decision. Interestingly, the letter misstated the rating decision percentage and award, so I had to file a CUE with my VSO (clear, unmistakable error) which got corrected about three months later. If you have a premium account on benefits, you make be able to login take a look at the following link to see "possibly updated" current ratings: { https://eauth.va.gov/ebenefits/download-letters } . However, as senior member will certainly advise, the actual printed letter that you will eventually receive is the document that matters. Congratulations,

Just wondering, does the RO's claims specialist opinion / interpretation of evidence, appear in C-File? Thank You

Knap-Sack, Sorry to hear that it has been so long. I thought my NOD was going long at about 1.5 years old. Do you have a VSO? What Regional Office is handling your NOD? I wish you well.

You are absolutely correct MikeR. I thought I was doing the hard core soldier thing by sucking it up and getting my $hit together. 30+ years later (at 57 years old) , it finally caught up to me and I spent nearly 5 months of last year locked up in phyc ward of various VA Mental health care facilities accross the country . The RO denied my claim without a C&P, since I did not tell my commander or ave a police report. However, the denial letter confirmed a medical diagnosis of PTSD pursuant to the criteria in DSM-V The denial was the second worse thing that ever happened to me in my life.

H*ll

Great advice Buck52, I will certainly keep that in mind going forward.

Smoothc100, Gastone; Thank you for the replies, I really appreciate the feedback. It must be pretty busy at the RO's.

After the denial of my PTSD claim, I received a poorly written canned form letter, hap haphazardly pointing to all the reasons for the denial. Some of the reasons were used several times in the same letter, as if it had but cut and pasted from some master document of denial reasons. The letter contained numerous errors, eg; No sudden request duty assignment change, lay statements from family, service members, deterioration on work performance, behavioral changes, excessive leave, changes in your performance without explanation ...bla bla bla. Well, that's total BS, I provided detailed statements from my wife, father, mother, daughters and the Lt. Colonel of the unit I was assigned to during the assault, all detailing deterioration my work performance, behavioral changes, I provided documentation that I applied had for and was rejected a transfer to another unit, and also applied for and was approved for terminal leave. However, the letter did clearly state, "VA evidence shows a medical diagnosis of of PTSD, pursuant to the criteria in DSM-V." Anyway, I thought it may be helpful to get a hold of my C-File regarding the claim to review what was actually considered rather than what the denial form letter stated. I thought by doing so, this would allow me to better address those points and any other incorrect information in the original decision that could potentially be used in developing my appeal. I submitted the FOIA request about ten months ago, and it remains in the collection evidence stage with a completion estimated date of over a year. Interestingly, Ebenefits lists; "Requested Documents are Past Due". After contacting "Peggy, this is not actually the case and they were not missing anything regarding my FOIA request. Is it normal for this FOIA request process take so long? Thank you

Katnboo2, I think everyone suffering from PTSD or any other illness really, has slightly different symptoms. Anyway, as hard as it may seem to do, try not to get into a funky rut which keeps you from; " become somewhat of a loner, even distancing myself from the family " as I have done. You only have one of those, and they can help you more than you think as long as you have a relationship with them that allows it. Try and find a hobby or something positive to keep you busy so that you are not constantly thinking about your PTSD. If the medications are making you feel worse or not helping, ask you VA doctor to work with you on alternative medications. It has been my experience that they will be eager to help you if you show an interest in the treatment they are providing. And as you have discovered, the fine people on Hadit.com are alway here for you. Good luck and I hope to see you posting soon. BTW, If you don't mind me asking, how where you able to discover that the VA accepted your stressor?

As a soldier which indured MST back in 1984, reading your post literately brought me to tears. I have no expert advice or knowledge f how best to proceed, but you will find it on the Hadit website. All I can offer is my personal support as an MST survivor and my best wishes as you work thru this process with the VA. And probably more importantly, is finding a way to live with this problem as comfortably as possible. Feel free to message me if you just need to chat, or anything really. T-Bird from Hadit.com saved my life by holding her hand out to me, and providing me the immediate guidance I needed early last year. I wish you well and will be following your progress.

TBird an others have given you great advice. Tell the CP and any other doctor for that matter , exactly what happened, how it has effected you and completely answer any questions they have. I am sorry sorry that you are going thru this... you are not alone.

Great news Andyman, I am so happy for you.. That seems really quick for a claim to completed, if fact...that seems incredible? It took the VA about 10 months to deny my PTSD-MST. The denial statement was full of errors, omissions and looked like a stock form letter that was poorly filled out. My nod has been simmering for over a year. Mark

Buck52, I feel your pain about the therapist visits and you are spot on regarding how no one except those that have experienced this terrible crime can really understand exactly how it feels and how it effects your life. In my case, the VA doctors and therapists have been extremely supportive and provided me the best treatment they know how to give. This is a complicated problem to solve for sure. I am so very thankful for the flexibility and variety of treatment I do get. However when the RO sent me my canned poorly written denial letter (without even the decency of even a C&P exam) that basically read; "nope....that did not actually happen 30+ years ago because you didn't file a police report....", I became blinded with guilt, shame, self blame and absolutely sickened by the audacity of the denial and overall failure of our Government to deal with this problem that has been going on just about forever now. While I am still very proud to have served my country, I read that callous and incorrect denial letter often and think back to that terrible life changing time in Germany back in 1985. Don't get me wrong, I understand that no system is perfect, but I do know first hand that the system has failed me in my specific case. It is my sincere hope, that others that have experienced MST as I have, will have a better outcome than me.....this has got to change....it should be given the highest priority by our leaders. Thanks for listening.

I am attempting to collect information regarding my early exit (Terminal Leave) from the Army back in 1986. My military records do not seem to contain documentation of my actual Terminal Leave request and approval, so I submitted an LES payroll request for the time period involved. The LES documents that were emailed to me are pretty mediocre quality so they are difficult to read and I was hoping someone can take a quick look to see if I am missing something regarding the terminal leave? I believe I took about a month plus/minus of total terminal leave before my scheduled ETS date of Nov 9, 1986. The LES websight has legends of what all the boxes pertain to on the wage and earning statements, however they were a bit different back in the 80’s than the examples shown, so I am having trouble sorting out if leave shows being liquidated during the last month of service just prior to my ETS date of November 1986? I do see an interesting caption in the REMARKS section, on the last two stubs: “Member Removed for Early Separation” and the one prior to that reads: “Member Removed for Normal ETS". Any help in this matter would be very helpful to my claim. https://1drv.ms/b/s!AlTZWWBnj5J27TKxSO5h2aoqAHTw PS, I attached the LES file just in case the link above does not work. Thank You LES_PAY_INFO.pdf

@MKAH Thank you for your offer and show of support. It's strange how you think you can out run this with family, career and just life just to find out when you finally slow down it hits you like a steal wall. I just went for my MH eval at the VA this week and do see a civilian therapist, but do to finances I had to see what VA had to offer in terms of specialized therapy for MST. We will see. Michigander You are so right "you think you can out run this". My last specialized inpatient program was specifically designed and geared for Male MST veterans. We had drill sergeants, Rangers, Tankers, Infantrymen, you name it...some hard core tough guys. The situation was the same for all of back in the early 80's. Admitting MST to your command would result in you being, labeled as GAY, chapter'd out of the military, dishonorably discharged with a DD214 that permanently reflected your "homosexual conduct" and or psychological reasons. I am shocked by the ignorance of people that I personally know, that have no idea how a person can have a family, a relatively stable job while being slowly eaten alive for the past 35 plus years with this terrible mental illness due to MST. The only way to properly understand it, it to live it.... and of course I would never want anyone to go thru that... I hope everyone gets the treatment they need to overcome this. In my case, it keeps getting worse, the older I get.

The VA does have many programs that focus on PTSD and PTSD from MST. Last year I spent roughly 2.5 months at a VA hospital SIPU (only 10 patients in the program at a time) located in Roanoke Virginia. It was grueling difficult work but was the best treatment I have had so far, but unfortunately I continue to have incapacitating anxiety, depression, OCD and SI from my MST. Early last year I spent 10 days in a high security BICU unit located in California and 2 months in a regular PTST residential program in Oregon. Spent another 10 days in a high security BICU in Oregon as well. Pre and post those hospitalizations, I am have been seen at behavioral health clinic where I see a variety of social workers, nurse practitioners and clinical physiologists at least twice per month. I am currently being treated via tele medicine with a clinical physiologist which I feel very comfortable doing. My advice is simple, do your very best to follow the instructions of your doctors / therapists, take you medicine as prescribed, don't miss appointments and work hard at getting better. If something about your therapy is not working for you, politely tell them. In my case, the VA staff have been very cooperative, supportive and interested in helping me get thru this. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have great VA medical care. If you need anything, just say the word. You have plenty of helpful, kind people on this message board that will reach out and help you if you need it. eg; T-Bird (in my case). Good luck, keep working to get better.

I was originally stationed at Furt (Nuermberg) and then I was sent to Erlangen.. My unit ID was 1/94 FA MLRS C-BTY. C-BTY MLRS was a part of the 94th battalion located in Furt, but we were in Erlangen since they did not have room on the cassern for out rocket launchers. I worked as the combat medic for C-BTY locaed near Ferris Barraks. " I'm sorry you suffered MST... " Thank you, same here. I know you have a complete understanding of the physiological baggage this causes.

Berta, Thank you for this information. Can you tell me more about where to find resources on MARA and getting my complete 201 personnel file? I googled it but did not see anything that looked like what your are talking about. Thank you so much.

Michigander All I can say is hang with it and get the treatment that the VA has available to offer. If you can afford private medical treatment, I would consider that as well. Like you, I managed to get into my late fifties before MST (which occurred in Germany in 1985) gradually destroyed me and my ability to provide for my family. If you ever need to chat or email, shoot me a message. Don't forget the crisis help line and all the good folks Like Thunderbird on this message board. Many of us share your pain. Good luck, Mark

Raza,2009, Thanks for the tip...I got the link and submitted the request.

Thank you for the information Broken Airman. I will try your suggestions.

Back in late 1984, early 1985 I had filed with my headquarters company a duty station transfer request (which was denied) not long after I was exposed to MST while serving in West Germany. I wanted this information in support my original PTSD-MST claim and now my NOD DRO review. During the development of my claim, I personally ordered my military file from the NPRC which contained very little information and did not specifically detail my transfer request or actual Terminal Leave. Does the NPRC collect , archive or possibly have this type of information? Thank you in advance.