armorer

Excellent advice John and Bronco, as always. I am going through a similar lowball on GAD (anxiety, or ptsd.) One thing I learned from my last (one and only) expert VSO is don't bunch more than one thing at a time, or the VA will intentionally bungle the time lines up on both claims. The problem I have which may assist these vets too is: 1) I'd like to disagree on the effective date, and 2) I'd like to disagree on the low ball 50% (much for the same reason as the OP.) But it will take over a year to get one thing through, and I'm still battling the VA bungling up my claims from 2011 to 2017. After typing this, I can see there is no way around it. I'll just have to get used to no response on all fronts for a year, and then all issues will be resolved in the worst possible interpretations possible all at once: while calling you in for C&P exams in 3 days notice that does not allow you to get properly prepared. You have both given excellent steps to take. I have just transferred to Medicare (Thank GOD!), so I need to get a Psychiatrist M.D. asap with my c-file ready. ** I will see Humana soon for my new Medicare, so if you have any advice on getting a Vet Friendly Medicare Healthcare provider (AND Psychiatrist!), I'd surely appreciate that :-D Medicare will be the first chance I have to afford a Psychiatrist M.D.! Most M.D.'s (including our last 2 VA Sec's) seem to acknowledge the Travesty ALL vet's go thru with the VA medical care system. John highlighted that I do not need to let anything drop off, even if I am already P&T VA Disabled (Thanks John!!)

I used Dr. Bash with significant results. It took me going at it alone to get 10% after 30 years and turned down by every lawyer in the country. In a little less than one year after I started with Dr. Bash, I am now TDIU, TDP, SSDI, and 90% sc (with NO lawyers at all, except for SSDI and they did absolutely nothing.) Of course, I should be rated significantly higher, but it's a biased system we all know. So all the "that's too much for me" means years of struggle and the chance you may never get anything close to what you deserve. It was one of the hardest years of my life surviving that year, but others going it alone, often go at it for years. Every case is different, but there is no one more qualified as MD in the eyes of the VA from his education and experience. I could not imagine anyone ever going toe to toe with him on VA or any medical matters (He is a M.D. Professor!) The greatest thing Dr. Bash gives you is in the first 2 weeks: he gives you a proper diagnosis to build your claims, if applicable. And understanding my 'root cause' was invaluable (not just several disjointed claims.) He has diagnosed a lot of scrambled up vets, and no one is better or more qualified, imo. If I ever have a partial chance to recover, it's my best bet to understand the Real 'root cause' of all my problems first and foremost. Over 3 years of near full-time testing by VA TBI department indicated his diagnosis was 100% correct in his first 2-week diagnoses! Thanks Dr. Bash, M.D.!

I'd vote a big "Hell Yea" on that one. Always take all your IMO's (w/ Doctor's resumes) and filled out DBQ's (even if you fill then out yourself) so they don't accidentally lose something in the mountain of paperwork they have to sift through. The VA constantly resurfaces 'mistakes' made on your record (against you) seized upon by lazy raters: so why not represent the facts that they constantly overlook on your record (over and over)? Eventually, since you represent the 'facts' over and over, someone will have the due diligence to do they right thing! It will be on record! ;-) Just because it is already on record does not mean a thing to raters with selective memory bias. They have a short term memory like me: and I don't have a short term memory at all!

SSDI is a breeze because they use all of the VA"s records with a health-care provider's compassion. SSA is Vet friendly imo, since they can see the VA records (that you can't see) on how screwed up we really are. If you have 2 - 100% VA ratings, you deserve SSDI. Just talk to your SSA counselor. Peace.

That's right, after years of testing from every expert in the hospital. Buck taught me, "Vets are not a M.D.!" M.D. Doctors are brilliant. Battle fatigue is as old as gun powder itself though, and hearing (or brain) protection just started after Viet Nam and is still rarely used in combat. From hanging around the VA hospital, old Marines over 70 y.o. often have the shakes (Parkinson's.) It is nothing you can manifest yourself nor can you hide it either. Thank goodness most of them have a loving family to help them out. But don't ask me what causes the shakes: ask an old Marine and/or a M.D..

L, I'm not a M.D., but medical literature suggests Blast Shock TBI most often progresses to either or both Dementia and/or Parkinson's disease (I did study pre-med, RN, and Acupuncture.) I've already got Dementia and signs of nervous symptoms which may or may not indicate nerve damages. As an acupuncture graduate student in clinics, I did successfully treat patients with Parkinson's to temporarily, and almost permanently most of the time, relieve their severe Parkinson 'Shakes'. Strong industrial glues were what attacked my favorite Parkinson's patient (and I treated several Western Medicine could not and would not treat), and he had (I forget the term) where his lower arms and legs were growing elongated and very thin. It is not just 'noise' - an undefinable term in quality, quantity, and harmonics - it is supersonic and infrasonic blast pressures that go directly, unimpeded by your open ear canals, directly into your brain. Your short term memory is directly behind your ears, and your sleep control center mechanism is in your mid brain and is also behind your ears in the medulla obbligato. From this point, your white brain cell matter are damaged (that communicate to your gray brain cell matter) and pre-maturely age rapidly from that point (from what i understand, this is a major difference between focal-concussion tbi (that heals on many non-invasive injuries) and blast-shock tbi (it just gets worse with time no matter what.) For 35 years, I have heard 90dB tinnitus-like sounds (that is really brain damage) 24/7 and I never reach deep rem levels of sleep: I just rest for about 10 hours plus a nap (or two) a day with chronic fatigue - cognitively, then emotionally, then physically. And 'noise at the range' involved thousands of blasts per 10 times that only one is borderline on your upper hearing level. As well, EVERY time I drove on the range or off the range, the Combat Engineers would use my 5 ton truck for mortar practice shifting my truck a half foot in the road while driving. I was yelling, crying, and screaming every day, but no one heard me. It's real easy! Just go and inspect Armorer Supply clerks at Ft. L'wood's combat engineering training for all the services and you will find some messed up brain dead soldiers. It's very simple. Parkinson's is a nerve disorder, and the brain is your biggest nerve you have; and the VA's top Physiatrists, Neurologists, Neurosurgeons, and Psychiatrists cannot confidently predict the brain's symptoms yet. I am already in way over my head now. There are some things that even M.D.s and Scientist's just leave to empirical evidence and don't try to explain it by atoms and molecules details (they can't.) God can be complicated at times. I can explain about 8 or more of my symptoms, but not what M.D.'s can't explain about the root cause. My MRI showed only about half a brain left, so I'm glad they (?) say Einstein only used 20% of his brain (but he did not have blast-shock tbi, et. al.) And acupuncture is more expert in treating nerves externally than any other healing medicine; so when everyone picks their poison for medicine, I'll pick the tiny needles with up to a 5,000 year old history when required. But of course, there are many times Western medicine is best, like dentistry, etc..., and I try to use the best method available. It takes me hours and hours for simple tasks, I make a lot of mistakes, I rely on anybody I can to help me, I have frequent panic attacks, and suicidal ideations.

jfrei, I think you have to go by your paperwork from the last decision as the most important, and go backwards to make any sense of the paper trail. Some of my decisions were up to 2 years in arrears and I had no idea. A significant population of USMC and US Army handicapped vets are both tbi and ptsd (or some form of anxiety); and incidentally they also have the highest overwhelming percentage of suicides in the USA too (duh.) But luckily for you, those are probably bi-modal stats: those who had a family started before the Service and those who Never had a family their whole life because of the Service. But your P&T I think means you are done worrying about exams, check-ins, and inspections. I'll try to find that out soon, if a moderator expert does not chime in beforehand, since I may forget: sorry. Peace.

It sounds like a hell of a good deal! My only question now is how the VA views a non-psychiatrist M.D.'s opinion on mental health issues? Good luck and keep us posted if you have an opportunity.

Thanks again, Broncovet. I had used him before, but due to a M.D.'s (slightly different) root cause analysis afterwards, a fraudulent QTC Psychologist rating , TBI exams for a solid year, and homelessness, it got side-stepped in all the confusion. I need to start looking at required time lines for processing. except this is at the lawyer stage now: so I'll let them handle the details. I appreciate your time and expertise Broncovet!

Thanks Broncovet, but neither of them are a Psychiatrist. I know Dr. Bash, and Dr. Anise from what I hear, can do anything expertly, but a Psychiatrist is desired mainly because it is a MH issue from an official TBI expert (and M.D.) Maybe there is no VA expert Psychiatrist available, since I have never heard of one yet. Dr. Brett Valette wrote an expert Psychologist IMO, but the root diagnosis changed mid-water (to Blast Shock TBI.) However any reasonable person could easily understand it, since the new diagnosis added further validity to GAD secondary diagnosis. Thus far, early indications from DAV are that QTC has still not understood it.

This involves GAD, TBI, migraines, tinnitus (but really also includes dementia, water on the brain (NPH), Meniere's disorder, centralized sleep apnea, depression, et. al... all secondary to latent stages of Blast Shock TBI ). I am in the GA area, but am having a problem locating a Psychiatrist IMO expert ANY where. I have also just moved across country and have no VA experts to guide me at all for anything. I used to have a whole TBI department's support which I severely need, and have absolutely no support at all now: period. To be discrete with an actual referral candidate, please PM me. Thank you!

Go Get'em Navy04! The only thing I see on your record is you are not over 60% on TBI, which may not make a difference: PTSD and TBI could be interchangeable imho. The hurdles of incompetence has washed me aside recently. I just want to get away from all the VA early-release felon-snitches, which is easier said than done. Good luck!

Do they offer unlimited cigarette smoking on the flight as well?

Solid answer Broncovet. It took man many thousands of years to develop the anatomical system they have with many interconnected veins and flow of body fluids. How can surgery correct that? I can now start replenishing my eyes: I'll take my glasses off and let them naturally exercise themselves, with good statistical evidence. Eyes are tough because well over 99% of Optometrists are idiots (esp. VA Optometrists.) If the VA Optometrists led the Vet to that conclusion, he may have a case - ?

I have 6 curriculums full of classes and only ENGLISH 101 and SPEECH 101 were upgraded from a C to an A: ONLY because they changed the course names/numbers. So 2 out of approximatley 350 classes in over 35 years is not a good track record. But I KNEW I could do it in English and Speech since 35 years is a long time in pragmatic utilization, so it was psychologically supportive in my case. But w/TBI, Dementia, and water on the brain, recall is easier in comparison (I work like Hell studying!) and thinking is where I fail miserably with declining cognitive abilities. From going to school with the S. Koreans and Japanese, they are going to eat you for lunch: not because they are smarter than you, but because their societies have evolved around being the smartest students in the world. Legalized cheating is a way of life for them, and if any of your 40% disabilities have to do with the brain in any way, good luck! They eat, breath, and live by going to school and being in the top 1% of the class. Ymmv, like in English and they may not know that as well. But they WILL have every copy of every exam question memorized, and their instructors support them objectively, subjectively, and will cheat for them as well... I know! FYI.

When you get a Nexus, it is a 'prime goal' to say you are financially independent to handle all of your affairs, or it's the LAST thing you add in CAPS from the M.D. Of course, just 'surviving' on what the VA allows as a rating over time is laughable, much less proof positive, that you can survive on limitied resources. The Rater will see your history, but it is still advised to have it highlighted near the end of the Nexus on a separated paragraph sentence as the last note in your Nexus (I read that on those VA education courses for sale on this site - I got about a half dozen of those for my VA education!) If you don't have it already, I'd get a VA certified paperwork M.D. to add a one sentence amendment to your C-File immediately!

Buck, When Chapter 31 gave me a dental checkup, VA dental was 'way-off' wrong on 2 out of 2 dx's! I've got the 'good' insurance from Chapter 31 though at about $78/mo (NOT Delta!). So being right next to the old brain, proper dental care is that impotant to me. VA health care is way below .500 and VA dental care is sitting on .000 right now. You really don't need ANY engineering statistical background coursework to make a prudent decision as far as I'm concerned. Before you know it, my jaw could be permanently disfigured due to trying to save $78/mo! I admit, they sound impressive when getting a checkup, but that and $3 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. ymmv. Good luck Brother!

Thanks for the "no future examinations required" checklist information. Mine was switched from 90 to 100% w/a phone call (not from me though!) since I wanted to defer my Sallie Mae WITHOUT interest charges: it's THE ONLY WAY w/ 100% VA disability. Everything else matches your description. My neurologist just wanted to keep tabs on me, but ALSO said to just leave or just say "bye" whenever I want. Now I will say "See Ya/" and get another cover letter too. That's a biggy to cut the ambilical cord from VA Healthcare :-o Thanks again!

Go with the $80/mo VA private Dental insurance you can get. There are just some things you don't go to VA for and dental work is the primary one. Ymmv, good luck. I will be interested in hearing your options: tooth extraction? They completely blew my dental Dx by a mile, just to have Dx's the VA would not cover: remedied by solutions they did cover: performed by a private DDS. Be very afraid.

TBI maps into 1) Dementia and/or 2) Parkinson's. Firing range workers ordered not to wear ear protection have an increased probability of Parkinson's. From TBI, I've already got Dementia, Menieres, and Water on the Brain (NPH)., along with a half dozen other secondaries. Many older 'lifer' Marines have the shakes, and that is a nerve damage form of Parkinson's. I see it often at the VA hospital, and I always ask their Service and MOS. The Army and Marines are Parkinson's and Dementia factories: as if our leaders can't figure it out after endless wars in the last 1,000 years? Just look at the Disabled Veteran suicide rates for confirmation of disabled brains.

And Veteran's choice has it's limits. Do you want an acupuncturist stabbing needles all along your lower spine for $15 per visit? Me neither. Medicare is not a pot of gold by no means, but in comparison, it's 'most' of a workable total 'Western Medicine' care option at a reasonable price. As well, the time factor could mean life, death, or significant infection time. 'ASAP' Catscan's at my VA hospital is secondary to maxed out flow of hospital patient's with one xray machine. But they won't let you go outside, because there is a 0.00001% chance they can squeeze you in. Seriously, the pt. process flow is a joke with no one who is competent over the pt. flow (usually a maintenance man or an islander technician who does not know English.) But yeah, after about 40 hours of waiting, you may get seen, although your life could be depended on it. 'Procedures' are somehow 'magically' interpreted as 'Policies' due to a lack of English language literacy, making you see a Department head to get reasonable service, if you can find one. ymmv.

The Neuro exam is the heart of the TBI exam, exactly. Plus it gets catscans if not already taken and MRI's and other important tests to cancel out other factors (like epilepsy for example), Meniere's (which I have too) and other electro-anomalies in your brain that could cause similar effects. Most tests show nothing most of the time, unless you let them cut your brain open for study. You find out how far you are in dementia if applicable, if you have water on the brain (not good and no extra rating percentage either), and by the end of all the tests, you will find out how hopeless you are (in a cheerful way to VA employees.) Your Neuro will be your main VA Health provider to help you from now on, until they cut your brain open to study (in a cheerful manner.) ** It's the same as the TBI exam with 30 more tests added from specialists to show that it IS tbi, dementia, Parkinson's, Meniere's, and/or NPH (water on the brain or normal pressure hydrocephalus.) You will also get a neuro-psychological exam (and THAT could be up to multiple years, if you pursue that route.) "Live long and prosper." "Live long and prosper.

Being trained in medicine, I don't want the VA for anything. I understand it's a cost vs. resources issue, but still, I am trying to hold on to what I have, that has not had stripped from me. And in most cases, ... :-( I do like the blood and urine workups. They are handy for fasting and cleansing the body by finding out which vitamins are not being replenished enough. I need to find out what you are all talking about with SSDI and Medicare. I get Medicare in a couple of months. VA pts. are just meal tickets for VA providers in most cases: who just try to pawn off the cheapest and cheesiest medical applications and drugs, no mater how many times you say NO and how many HOURS you wait to tell them NO! Ymmv.

How long did the 'win' take? Thanks

Never say never. it's a Republican controlled Congress. Mountain Haitian cannibals certainly like human meat :-o