Crossfit702

It's not rambling when it's serious stuff like this... I'm honestly shocked at how they simply just disregard situations like this. However, about 2-3 chicks I had the unfortunate luck of serving with got 100% due to some alleged sexual assault story which if true would be among the most ironic events in military history. Anyone who knew them would instantly agree with me on the following: "Last I checked, they were the ones doing the sexual assaulting and doing it by the dozens!" Yet, god forbid someone with your serious health conditions get a 100% rating before such outstanding members of our armed services as them. Situations like this baffle me in ways I can't even begin to describe...

As a former rescue swimmer, I have never had much of a problem walking around as if I was god's gift to the world, and admitting what I'm about to admit is no easy task for someone like me... I am honestly grateful for your kind words because in 29 years of being alive this situation with the VA put me in a very dark place psychologically feeling a sort of desperation that I honestly do not think there are words for in the English language... Even before the military I had seen some crazy things as a child being born in a communist dictatorship like Cuba, and having to flee that awful place with my family in a raft only to be held in refugee camps in Guantanamo in refugee camps for over 2 years before being able to come to this heavenly place we call the United States of America (no sarcasm in this statement by the way I'm 100% serious). However, in life like during a rescue at sea, your ultimate threat is that one thing, scenario, or person you least expected to be your ultimate demise... This is a lesson taught to all Rescue Swimmer School candidates regardless of whether you make it or not this will stay with you, but you never actually think nor want to be the lucky one who goes on to a experience the intense desperation and darkness of such a situation that regardless of how much it was emphasized during training is NOTHING compared to the actual experience... By the way the internet or use of computers was actually not a problem at all fortunately because I was still in college then so people just thought I was a "really dedicated student" lol. Keeping the smell of not showering for days, and trying not to gross out a pretty girl in class due to lack of hygiene is another story far worst then having access to the internet and a computer lol...

I would like to start this by expressing my gratitude for your service as a fellow veteran. You, of all people do not deserve to be going through this especially after having a medical discharge.... Don't get me wrong, I do feel blessed. However, at the same time I do feel a need to speak out in regards to the VA's constant unprofessional conduct in the handling of disability claims because the fact that you and other veterans are worse off does not imply that my cases were handled correctly... I too, got a shitty deal and dealt with several denials and eventually had to get an attorney to get things moving as they finally did. My deal was simply less shittier... However, I too understand your reasonable frustration with my complaints because I too saw people get a way better deal then I did immediately (most which I know personally), and they did not actually deserve to even get 10%. For example, I was a rescue swimmer for the Navy. A job like that as you can imagine comes with its hazards and things happen, and it's quite understandable that someone might be banged up after a couple of years doing that just like it's understandable for infantry. However, there were like 5 girls from my boat that got 100% disability on the basis of their "sexual trauma story." Two of them I didn't know, but I did know the other 3, and I also knew the story that got them that rating which was complete bullshit because the people they accused weren't even in town when the alleged events took place! Plus these girls got around and around and around... Yet, people like us who actually did our jobs have to get in line and wait! Because god forbid we don't take these ladies' stories seriously. The worst part is that there are fellow female veterans who actually went through some sort of sexual abuse but are too disturbed to talk about it. Plus the schedule is full for like months because some chicks on a boat want to tell a story to make money! That's what really gets to me, and to me just being better off then most is not good enough. I too used to think the exact same way until I started college as a criminal justice major, and found out how badly we were all getting screwed. Therefore, I took my situation to one of my professors (a marine veteran), and he set me straight! He told me to not allow my guilt to make me one more victim of the VA, and that the fact that I wasn't getting screwed as badly as others did not mean I was not getting screwed also. If u have any questions or anything don't hesitate to ask, and keep fighting them. That's the key according to my professor. Just become an insane pain in the ass at your local VA hospital, and take matters up to patient advocates because that's another thing that helped me out as well

So... It's been over a year since I last visited this site... No legitimate excuse for this although I was homeless for a while.... I guess I just kinda lost faith in things ever working out, but surprisingly they did... - Went from 40% to 90% in disability rating. The following is a summary of what went down: 50% - PTSD 20% - lumbar strain/ lower back 20% - left shoulder 20% - right shoulder 10% - left knee/ lateral meniscus tear 10% - right knee/ lateral meniscus tear 10% - tinnitus 10% - GERD 20% increased to 30% - painful scars associated with injuries and cystic acne I know I should feel blessed to have had such an increase in my disability rating... 40% to 90% was no easy task by any means, and the $34,000 I got as payback was a nice touch without a doubt... However, I can't help but being absolutely furious because of the following reasons: - How the hell do I get 20% per shoulder for my injuries as a former rescue swimmer, but I got 10% per knee which was originally misdiagnosed by the VA. It then took almost 2 years to find out from the civilian doctor who fixed them that there was no ACL tear as the VA originally claimed there was in both knee. As a matter of fact, the civilian doctor said he had no idea what made them come up with such an erroneous diagnosis, and that if they had acted sooner the atrophy on my leg muscles would not still be a lingering issue almost 3 years after the surgeries... - The lumbar strain they initially denied which is incredibly common in all naval special operations personnel from all the long swims we do with the heavy fins and gear we have to carry with us. However, when they decided to finally acknowledge it due to the condition worsening because of the knee situation they decide to give me a shitty 10% like it's no biggie... - For GERD they gave me 10% when about 90% of my medical record is filled with visits to sick call from stomach problems due to my constant interaction with the dirty water from the Naval base harbor - No word on my sinusitis which is by the way listed on my active duty medical record as "CHRONIC SINUSITIS" but of course they missed that part... - No word on whatever the hell "sleep apnea" is... Although doctors constantly bring it up because of certain ongoing complaints I keep bringing up. The best part, is that this sleep apnea shit is thought to have developed because of certain conditions I was never given the proper medical care for, and one of the is "CHRONIC SINUSITIS" yet they missed it again.... - Last but not least, they decide to give me 50% for PTSD as if men killing other men was a new thing for the human species, and also because I'm always happy to put their doctors in their place during their constant xxxx ups which is sad because I'm just a former navy rescue swimmer with a limited medical education in emergency medicine (and just the basic stuff by the way), and with barely any college education at all... As a matter of fact I'm just graduating this upcoming fall semester with my business and criminal justice degree.... Yet I gotta tell VA docs here in Vegas when they are messing up, and where certain shit happens to be within the human body which is like what they cover within their first year in med school if not before getting to med school! I honestly think these docs the VA hires must have been those who graduate at the very bottom of their class in med school because how they make it from the parking lot to their offices every day is miracle in itself considering how stupid they are... Any of you guys out there experience anything like this or close to this? Any advice in how to better deal with these "SITUATIONS" will be gratefully appreciated 100% lol!

I don't know whether it was BUD/S or SAR School, but I'm pretty sure the logs weren't easy on my back or shoulders and neither were the mile long swims with heavy fins. The dirty waters I swam in didn't help with the GERD, and the PTSD was the first thing the VA diagnosed me with and it took them almost 3 years to convince me I had it. Yet, no service connection can be found for any of these things, and these pics are just of the training!! Do they simply "DONT GIVE A xxxx?" or are they just plain "STUPID?"

Oh yea! You bet I did. To be honest what bothered me the most is that such a person would be allowed to work there doing such a serious job. As we both know by now, my temper is no secret and I'm working to improve it every day. However, this is also true of the fact that there are veterans far worse then me. One day, such an individual might be in her office sitting right where I was, and she is going to make the same mistake. Such a scenario with a severely traumatized individual could very well get her kill and others in the process. Such an event, is literally around the corner with so many of us coming home after 13 years of war. It's only a question of where and when, and if it happens here in Las Vegas. I will drive to where such a scenario took place while the news cameras are rolling, and I'll saying something like: "I warned you guys, I told you this was bound to happen, and I said it countless times. What the xxxx did this country think was going to happen? You train someone to kill, you send them to a war on the premises they are fighting for their country and their loved ones, then they come home and realize no one gives a shit, you stick them in a shitty healthcare system with facilities usually about 20-30 minutes away from where most people live, you make them run around for years chasing something that is rightfully theirs to begin with (benefits), and all of this is going on at the same time they are dealing with both mental and physical health issues! How did no one figure out that a person being put through so much would one day loose it!?"

flores97 and Tbird, Hey guys thanks for the replies as always. Flores, you literally took my explanation away from me lol! However, I will expand on it lol. I have a lot of the symptoms in the higher ratings based on what I've researched, and what you guys have taught me. However, the medication combo that I have is a 100% perfect fit. It doesn't cure PTSD (as we all know it can't be cured), but it helps hide the symptoms at school so that I can think clearly and do well. flores97, I have been concerned ever since you gave me the heads-up on the fact that talking about my childhood trauma could mess-up my PTSD claim. Therefore, i had a chat with my therapist who has been on my case about filing my claim for PTSD since I was assigned to her. She told me not to worry because my situation was different. Because other then having one PTSD-related symptom from my time in the refugee camps as a child none of the others manifested itself until after the military. This is quite normal according to her. Because the events that took place during my time in the camps happened during a time where my body and mind were far from being fully developed. Therefore, my mind had an easier time processing it, and this can sometimes happen in children with high IQs (not bragging lol). However, after the military my mind and body were obviously fully developed, and this is why I can't "lock-up the demons in Pandora's box" as I like to say lol. If I hadn't processed the childhood trauma well then it would be a different story, but then I wouldn't have been in the military, much less a rescue swimmer according to her. Because one of the many psychological examination screenings would have picked it up, or had a previous diagnosis and lied about it and got past the many psychological examination screenings somehow. I asked her why it all seems to me like it just barely happened whether it's military trauma or childhood trauma. She told me this was due to the common mistake of thinking that just because I processed the childhood trauma well does not mean that it's gone from the mind. She said the bad stuff wasn't gone instead it was in a kind of dormant stage. This dormant stage ended when the military trauma woke it up. Therefore, I guess now the childhood trauma and the military trauma are fully awake kicking it at the same party lol! I told her that although I processed it well i still hadn't forgotten the things that happened. She said this was fine, and that remembering does not mean I didn't process it well and does not mean I have PTSD. Then I told her about my friend who I met in the camps and is one of three individuals that i keep in contact with from the refugee camps who were all children as well back then. I told her how my friend processed it amazingly 100% because my friend doesn't remember a thing. The doctor then told me this was actually quite the opposite and it's the worse case scenario, and I was stunned as you can imagine. However, she explained to me why. She says that individuals like my friend have something called "repressed memories" which usually can have catastrophic consequences. Because for a person like that new trauma like the one I experienced in the military can trigger these "repressed memories" to come out and it's almost like waking-up one day with new memories you did not have before. Like a part of your life you don't remember living, and as anyone can imagine this can be quite a trip. However, I argued that such memories could not be considered new to such a person because they actually took place, but she said that to those individuals they are new because they were never processed properly by their mind and were instead repressed/ hidden. Flores, this was a hell of a revelation to me because for 22 years since I met this person when i was 6. For 22 years I have been wondering what my friend did right to be able to not remember, and what I did wrong because I could remember. 22 years I spent thinking something was 100% the exact opposite of what it truly is....

Talon II FE, flores97, pwrlsm Thanks guys for the replies. Talon, I got a story for you buddy. So, on June 9, 2015 I get in a car accident. The other driver was completely at fault. I initially denied all medical care at first, but the pain kicked in later after the adrenaline had gone down. Therefore, I make the 45-minute drive to the VA Hospital's ER here in Vegas (which of course, is empty since it's on your way out of Vegas to Utah). I get this doctor that barely lets me finish talking, and tries to discharge me and give me an Ibuprofen. I was pissed-off and left on a 45-minute drive back home to use the civilian hospital next to me. Where they did several exams including x-rays. They found out that i had multiple back injuries, and spinal cord injury near the neck. However, no clean break. Later, i found out this VA doctor who saw me in the ER wrote a very nasty report on top of being medically negligent in my examination. This "animal" who holds the title of "doctor" wrote the following (at the end of my medical report): "The patient's behavior confirmed my suspicions that he was seeking the prescription of a narcotic." The only reason I haven't showed up at the VA Hospital ER in the middle of the night looking for this guy. Is because not long ago I got the news that I got into Harvard University, and I promised my dad I wouldn't do anything to screw that up. However, till this day even as I am writing right now my blood pressure gets elevated just thinking about it. When my mom found out she almost had a heart attack. Thank god she didn't. Not, just because she is my mom, but because if she had that doctor would be 6-feet under no doubt about 100%. I tell you this because I feel you on the pain medication problem. My physical pain is minor, and I do not require actual narcotics (at least not yet). However, I feel for you and some of my buddies in similar situations.

flores97, Hey it's awesome to hear from a vet who has gone through a similar situation or worse. It's not awesome that this happened to you, but it is awesome to know that I'm not alone. When you are in such a situation that is what kills you form the inside out. The feeling that you are like the only person in the world who is going through such a shitty situation. It doesn't mean talking to someone in a similar situation is gonna cure you, but it will help calm the nerves to hear that you aren't alone in the struggle. I actually had this nurse practitioner question me about why the misdiagnosis was upsetting me back in July of last year. She said that I shouldn't still be angry about the misdiagnosis and that she has news for me and that was that "shit happens." I stood up to leave right away, and told her that if my girlfriend had not been in the room with me I would have been glad to hop over the desk and showed her what "shit happens" really means! I told her she was a rude, unprofessional, and disrespectful old xxxx who deserved to burn in hell for saying shit like that to people who have seen countless horrors and know the definition of "shit happens" like no other human being on this earth! She was furious lol!

TexasMarine, sir that's crazy and disturbing to hear! I let my attorney know right away. She told me not to worry, and if things didn't go our way we would appeal and use this situation as one of the reasons to appeal.

I was a rescue swimmer in the Navy, and regardless of the high drop-out rate or rescue swimmer school and how elite it is consider to hold such a title I do not consider myself a true warrior. I didn't have it as hard as the marines or army soldiers fighting on the ground day-in and day-out, and I'm just a pretty boy when compared to such heroes. However, based on accounts from friends who were such heroes the enemy on the ground was no joke! They are intelligent, adapt quickly, no the terrain well, and are extremely committed to their cause regardless how ridiculous we may think it is. Therefore, to fight such an enemy and live to tell about it requires decently intelligent individuals. However, for some reason the VA tends to think that any such person with PTSD is likely stupid. I don't get it. Why would anyone think PTSD makes you dumb, stupid, or ignorant? If you can fight and defeat such an intelligent enemy why would anyone consider such an individual to not have a high level of intelligence? Furthermore, if you are a VA doctor or official why would you try to screw such an individual? If him/ she fought and killed the enemy you better believe that he/ she can kill you too if you screw with him/ her.

Okay, so this is going to be hard to believe for anyone reading this, and it's fine if you don't because it happened to me and I'm still having hard time believing it. Back in 2014 I got into an argument with a VA dermatology doctor about putting me on Accutaine/ Isotretinoin for Cystic Acne. I showed her that I hadn't finished the treatment as a civilian due to entering the service and the same thing happened upon getting out, but she wouldn't put me on it and claimed no sane doctor would. I went to a civilian dermatologist and she recommended I be put on the treatment on the first visit. Furthermore, the civilian doctor said I would be a "perfect candidate" for the treatment. I brought this back to the VA dermatologist and she was furious. She stuck to her decision, and brought in a fellow dermatologist to back her up, and man she brought in identified himself as a dermatologist and backed her up and that was about it for that situation... Almost two years later, this past March 7th, I had an appointment for a GERD disability claim, and a lower back pain disability claim. The examiner was none other then the dermatologist my psycho dermatologist doctor brought in to back her up. It took me a while to remember where I had seen him before, but halfway through the exam it hit me. However, he didn't recognize me. He also didn't seem to know anything about the human body because when I tried to explain to him that a bad knee day equals a bad lower back day he tried to tell me this did not matter. This was quite shocking and disturbing to hear because my chiropractor has told me that the two issues are connected, and so did my knee surgeon. Then last week I went to pick-up a buddy of mine at the ER due to a really bad sinus infection, and when I went to the front desk to get my friend I see the same guy who was my C&P examiner and who supposedly was a dermatologist treating patients in the ER!! What the hell is going on here? Is this dude even a doctor at all? Has anyone experienced such a thing?

waccamawwild, Buck52, Tbird, thanks guys for all the info. During my C&P I found out that it was chronic PTSD, depression, general anxiety, sleep problems which were classifies as chronic, the diagnosis of adjustment disorder with mixed emotional features, anger problem. However, the C&P psychologist who was a civilian and very nice too told me that she was impressed with seeing that even after my adjustment disorder with mixed emotional features I still managed to make it through rescue swimmer school and said that I showed a great deal of resilience to push on ahead which I told her was kind of confusing. Because although I had all these mental health issues it did not mean I didn't want to achieve things and wasn't going to work hard for them. Look guys my PTSD may be quite severe and looking at a PTSD symptom chart for me and looking in the mirror are almost the same, but I still manage to do well in college. Yeah, I take Prozac, Adderall/ Dextroamphetamine, Ambient, and I have to work harder but I still manage to have a 3.9 GPA and being part of an international honor society and get letters from Columbia, Harvard, Georgetown, and many others inviting me to apply based on my academic achievements. I say this because I have noticed that it has become quite the trend to think that a veteran with PTSD equals that such a veteran should be thought as stupid, ignorant, or dumb. This may be true in some cases but not in all, and it is quite offensive to see such symptoms implicating such an idea on a PTSD symptom chart for compensation.

flores 97, I have a close family friend who has lupos, and I feel for you terribly. As far as fibro goes I've heard it can be quite horrible, but I've also heard that with good quality care it can be dealt with quite well. If you don't mind me asking, what is your situation like? Oh and don't feel guilty over your dad because at least you didn't have to shoot him, and I mean that 100%. The worse thing other then a well-trained killer is one with PTSD because once they snap it's almost impossible to turn it off. When I went looking for the doctor who misdiagnosed me I was lucky the VA cops who restrained me also knew me but it took 5 of them to do it and I'm not much to look at. On a tall day I'm 5'7" and 150lbs soaking wet, but I still dropped the first three and busted one of their noses after being restrained. As a rescue swimmer they teach us a lot of complex hand-to-hand techniques and in the water so on dry land they are cake for us. Therefore, don't feel bad and pat yourself in the back for not having to put him down for good. It's a bit ironic to hear that kids are a trigger for him. My friend does quite well around children and so do I, and if they play video games even better lol. With us its literally the same thing that gets us going and that's people who because of their position take advantage of others usually because they don't know better. This is why I get into it with VA docs a lot because when it comes to the human body I know it pretty well and although I may not know the answer to something I'll know what isn't so more then once I've caught them on their bullshit and they freak-out on me and as you can expect freaking-out on a vet with PTSD as their doctor is not going to go well lol

Thanks Berta and Silent Uproar, Fortunately it was not as bad for me. However, Silent Uproar I don't know if you have been told and if you have I'm not sorry to sound like a broken record, but 10-15 minutes unconscious after a blow to the head is very serious and this is not coming from someone feeling sorry for you but from someone who has actual medical knowledge on this although not a doctor. As a rescue swimmer someone in a situation like the two you just mentioned is 100% top priority and even after being conscious you are not moving an inch from my med-board and I would go as far as restraining the person with heavy duty restraints until most exams were done. It is crazy to hear this and even crazier to hear that you only got 10% that is ridiculous and unacceptable!