SLEDGE

Berta and others, What would a cue claim look like if the VARO mentions the records but does not 'discuss' them? An example from my case, The VARO was asked to get my SSA Disability file in 1996. SSA had sited fibromyalgia and PTSD together as totally disabling in 1993. (No changes since then) The RO has mentioned my SSA file but never discussed why the 1993 dates do not apply in the VA claim. 1993 was also the year that I started getting outside opinions. The RO has mentioned several of them but never explained why the information did not apply. They mentioned them in 2002. My win's Effective Date is 03, 2002. THE COURT has remanded my effective date claim because of the lack of explanations. sledge

Yup, That's me also. sledge

Some comments on fatigue. The thyroid stimulator hormone test does not tell the doctor if a fatigued person is getting enough thyroid hormone. Most patients of 'clinical' hypothyroid (fatigue with pain and stupid) improve greatly if supplied with Armour Thyroid and allowed to self regulate the amount of the dose and the timing of the dose. The thyroid stimulator hormone test does not tell the doctor if a fatigued person is getting enough thyroid hormone. Synthetic thyroid hormones do not supply the balanced stuff that Armour Thyroid has in it. Synthetic hormones are usually only one particular chemical preperation. Some people do fine on synthroid, I don't. Some doctors look at the person sitting in front of them and then wonder why the 'test results' are WRONG. My tsh was normal when I started out at 180mg of Desicated Armour Thyroid. My tsh is .oo5 now and I feel much better physically. You have to suppress the tsh. FMS and CFS and GWS etc involve many different types of dis-regulated hormones. PTSD and hundreds of other illnesses can cause the symptoms of FMS, CFS, GWS etc. Thyroid is usually the main culprit. The test results look normal even when the patient obviously doesn't. When the patient is very fatigued and the test results seem totally wrong, according to the doctor's observation of the patient, you have found a real doctor. I'm not a doctor and I do not advise anyone to ignore their doctor's advice. I chased this thing for 30 years and I have found a starting point now. My VA shrink prescribed the Armour Thyroid. sledge

My problems are very similar in administrative nature. The only records available support the veterans claim, both during and after service. Supplied by the Air Force and the VA. Outside expert opinions agree with all of the other findings. The RO and the BVA both denied and both failed to explain 'why'. The CAVC remanded the entire mess 2 years ago. Two and a half decades ago I asked to have my entire record actually read at least once by the adjudication personel. I contended that any reasonable mind would find in my favor and we could put these issues to rest. 5 years ago I asked the DAV honcho at the VARO to do my claims right one time instead of pencil-whipping everything that the RO shoved under his nose. As long as the paper pushers can't find a reason to take pride in their work the vets will continue to get shafted. sledge

Namvet, I have no control over the ratings or the numerical percentages. Given the RO's past track record I would not be surprised to see a rating of 75% and have to wait 5 years to see if the number is rounded up or down. I have nothing to gain by bad-mouthing the RO. It's just that in my case the RO jerks know exactly what they are doing and to what vet they are doing it to. Why else would they change a highly respected expert opinion so that the opinion would become a negative piece of evidence instead of a positive? 6 times? Another one 4 times? Another one twice? Another 8, one examiner at a time. Why have I not been sent to a 'doctor' for a C&P examination of the vet the last 4 times? Or to an examiner who at least knows how to spell the disease that the vet is supposed to have, or not? That last clown asked me if I knew the procedures and findings because he had NEVER examined ANYONE for that disease? (Fibromyalgia) I already had a 10% rating for Fibromyalgia before that exam based upon an examination by a specialist in 1995, specialist means 'doctor'. I'll betcha the 10% gets dropped to zero as the result of that last C&P. I'll give you 5 to one odds. At the very least the last examination will cause another 2 years delay in the adjudication of my claims. Then another 5 years waiting for the RO or the Board to 'articulate' the reasons and basis for the denial. I have read where others here have stated that the RO people do not have the time or the inclination to single out 'certain' vets for mistreatment during the protracted adjudication procedure. OK! But I have seen the 'notes' that they leave for each other in my c-file. They sent them to me twice. sledge

HMMMMM, "3) Have you contacted the Ro and sentors, SO, etc about the exams in particular and cited the regulations behind reexaminations and P&T? If so, what are the responses?) I say again, My lawyer is in on this crap and nobody knows why I need to have a C&P. All of the appropriate rules, regulations, statutes and examples have been cited in the NOD. The RO, DAV and my elected reps have no intentions of helping me. In fact they are against me, all of them! They all said so to my ear. Cut me some slack guys. "That really isn't the way the system works" DUH? Everybody here knows how the VA system is supposed to work/help vets. And equally how the VA system does not help us. "2) You mentioned several other problems you have...what are they and what are the ratings? Are you sure your PTSD is P&T or could another disorder be P&T?" High Blood Pressure, Residuals of a leg injury and Fibromyalgia, all at 10%. The PTSD is the only one rated as P&T. (PTSD is 80% schedular) I have an NOD in on the effective date of the PTSD award. I filed it in 1990 and continuesly prosecuted the claim until the Tiger Team awarded it in 2002. The Tiger Team placed all of my claims in the directly service connected status. They sited that the evidence of my various disabilities existing goes back to my service. Chronic while in the service and continuously chronic afterwards. Why would I need to be examined to determine if the condition existed earlier than the 2002 rating states? VA says 2002, Tiger Team says 1972 (while inservice) and SSA says 1993. My records say 1970 (while inservice). By the way, I was never informed of my appeal rights until fairly recently. The actual date of becoming informed isn't important because it came 'after' all of the denials. After the formation of judicial review in 1988. According to the CAVC, a complete lack of appeals information, to be supplied by the RO to the Veteran claimant, is grounds to vacate a decision. That means all of my effective dates are the earliest dates that I filed each claim, but only since 1988. Now that I'm completely confused, how are you catching this stuff? sledge

Guys, Ya can't say both ways in the same reply. ie: They can't, But they will anyway. This here is not new, "I stand by what I said 100%...the RO CANNOT order reexaminations for P&T cases without sufficient cause. "They can't, But they will anyway." BTW, I'm naturally sarcastic and abrasive, don't take it personally. I believe we have to find a champion for our cause before anything substantial takes place. There are a few good guys and gals in congress but not enough. We have several new vet's orgs that know what they are doing, most of the time anyway, but they are swamped with the regular stuff. Somebody with enough cash to finance an overhaul of the stupid stuff needs to step forward. I'm still waiting on my retro, no help here. Ya'll may not like any of Hanoi Jane's friends and I don't either. So who was left on the ballot the last time? I was not excited over either dude myself but, I'm a Nam vet. Kerry sucks. Pure politician! Don't try to change me cause I can't remember where I stand from one day to the next. Floggin a dead horse. I got a copy of my next appointments today. The PTSD exam is listed as a C&P. Yes hon, I'm still P&T. The RO normally sends us to more exams so the new exams can function as a fishing trip. If the examiner opines in our favor we get yet another exam. This crap can go on for 12 more years cause I have many more opinions in my favor than the RO has in theirs. I can get 6 more exams before the judicial weight is balanced. (equipoise) At 2 years between new exams that's 12 more years before the RO has me beat. And they will never articulate their reasons for denial because that would let the court come in and bail me out. I do have a lawyer on my team. His help got us the favorable decision in the first place after the DAV refused to help me because my file is too big. (Life Member) So far the government has paid him over 10 grand in fees for his help, help before I could legally hire him. Paying him for his time is much less costly than paying my retro. Don't ya just love how this works? Screw the vet, nobody cares, what's the big deal? My lawyer has quoted chapter and verse in the NOD's that we have filed. No answer. sledge

WOW, that's more than I expected! I'll try to fill in the blanks so you guys can be more specific in your answers. "Are you rated for pension or compensation?" Compensation. "How long have you had the same PTSD rating?" 3 years. Have you had the same PTSD rating for 5 years or more? No changes since the award, 10-2003 / retro of one year. Has any competent doctor stated that there is no likelihood of improvement? Yes. Are you more than 55 years old? 54. "The RO is clearly exceeding its authority in these cases and the vets that are affected SHOULD fight it every step of the way." If anyone wishes to examine my records for examples of VARO Dirty Tricks we can set up an appointment in St. Louis. The RO has lied, lost my records, rewritten my records, ignored my records and has sent me on several wild-goose-chases. Of late, my MRI has been cancelled, unknown reason why. (I have several service-connected physical problems.) My medications are being cancelled again. (OH Well) This new exam is actually the second one that the RO has scheduled for me that's related to P&T PTSD. The first exam was a cluster, if you know what I mean. "the worse case scenario is if a vet felt they did not have to report to a C & P and failed to show up-" I always present myself to the examining agency at the specified time and place. What are we supposed to do when the RO schedules a C&P on a day that the specialty involved is not around? And, then denies the claim because the vet did not get examined at the appointed time and place. Or, x-rays are ordered but not taken. The doctor goes home while ya sit in the x-ray waiting room. The actions of the RO have been consistently against me and they use every illegal trick in the book to deny my claims. My claim was awarded by the Tiger Team in Washington, not by the RO in St. Louis. The RO has scheduled the new exam for THEIR OWN REASONS. I feel that the RO can't stand to have a case pulled out from under them and awarded behind their backs. Before the award the RO was just getting started messing with my new lawyer. Some records that the RO should already have are being sought by my lawyer at this time. The court will not take my case because the RO and BVA have not 'ARTICULATED' their reasons for denying my claims. (12 years retro are due but not received) (Anytime they want to they can pick up the ball and go home.) By not telling us 'WHY' the RO has effectively, constructively shut down my appeal. My lawyer filed an NOD. The SSOC is still not here after 2 years. It is at the discretion of the Secretary -- not the courts or the claimant. Isn't this fun? Where is Zorro when ya need him? sledge

Greetings Comrades, I'm 80 percent for PTSD and TDIU with P&T. I have 3 more rated disabilities. I have been scheduled for another PTSD C&P. It's an 'outside the VA' hired gun again. This examiner has examined me twice before. One negative opinion and one favorable opinion. The negative opinion was penned without an examination of the vets records. The positive opinion came after the same examiner READ THE FILES. Basically, the examiner could not have given a valid opinion the first time because my records were not reviewed prior to the examination. By the VA standards that we all know and trust, the first exam does not count. The second exam does count. So, With only one [proper examination] by the VA my PTSD claim was granted. How about the 6 or 8 private examiners that the VA sent me to over the years? To a man they all say the same thing, Chronic PTSD, Service Connected. I can't wait for the rest of my records to become unclassified. I'm actually a combat related vet with service connected PTSD, but I can't prove it [yet]. I wish somebody at the VA would pull their head out. sledge

Comrades, I love CUE awards. My lawyer's next move will involve SSA records that were available but not mentioned in any SSOC until very recently. The records were available and I requested that the VA obtain them in 1996 as they are material evidence in my unemployability claim. SSA placed my unemployability in 1993. My c-file records show unemployability in 1990. Lawyers get 30 percent now. My guy is in it for the long haul. The VA recently changed their forms that are used to request info. Make sure you are using the correct forms or the VA will use the 'old form' as a reason to deny and delay. sledge

I can't find that?? (BVA decision, Citation Nr: 0403497) sledge

sledge here, First I would like to comment on this, (what about the examiner hugging me and telling me how sorry he was for treating me the way he did.) My experience implies that the examiners will try to buddy-up at the end of a stupid examination because they are going to write a stupid report and they don't want you to come back and shoot them. From my own experiences, your records are mixed-up with another vet's. You will 'HAVE TO' go to the RO and straighten out the file during your personal examination of the C-File or you can expect the RO to continue with 'nothing' examinations by less-than-qualified dummies. (My claim went nowhere for 25 years because the RO DAV (I'm a life member) refused to read my file.) The RO jerks will read one C&P report file and place the results of the examination in somebody else's C-File. Until you examine the C- File yourself they will not pull out the erroneous records. And future decisions will mimic the last one, you lose. The RO folks get paid for shuffling papers, not making accurate decisions. Forget the political crap that congress and the VA tell anyone that will listen. They lie. sledge

Send me a private email so can discuss my personal treatment plan. There's no cure that I know of but feeling better may be one medication away. I'm still not a doctor but I know what works for me. sledge

Comrades, Stresses will gang up on ya to make your life miserable. My research shows the following information, The thyroid stimulator hormone (TSH) test is 'worthless' and only MD types will go by it. They learned that crap in school and know-it-all, read on. Many hard to diagnose and/or treat medical conditions are actually caused by or severely affected by a low value of thyroid hormone, namely Thyroid3. (Brand Name Cytomel) . Thyroid3 is the thyroid hormone that your 'cells' can use immediately without having to change Thyroid4 into Thyroid3. (T4, T3) The only practical method of determining if you need thyroid hormone supplementation is to take some. [An MD will only check the TSH and declare that you don't have a thyroid problem, wrong Buckwheat! ] The medical conditions that can be affected by low thyroid are too numerus to mention here. Generally speaking we are talking about all of the pnueological stuff in total, joints, cardial-pulminary, obeisity, endocrine, memory deficits, brain processes in general, fibromyalgia and the Wal-Mart Syndrome. When you really need the thyroid supplementation nothing works right. Some things obviously and others not so obviously. The MD's said I am in perfect health according to the blood tests. Why then can't I walk, talk, pick up coins, tie my shoes or find my way around? I'm taking 6 grains of Armour thyroid and 25 mcg of Cytomel daily. Find yourself a DO, not an MD or sledge, and get checked out. By The Way, My VA shrink is prescribing Armour Thyroid for my medical problems. sledge

As someone who uses thyroid supplements I can talk about this stuff, but I'm no doctor. Chlorine and Fluoride are both strongly indicated as major, big-time, thyroid disruptors. When the thyroid gland gets messed up [everthing else] stops working correctly. Even though my wife claims that I brush more often than anyone else I never use fluoride. The chlorine in our city drinking water is so high that it always burns my eyes when showering. 3 water-waste water specialists in my family have tested the chlorine content and declare that it's 6 times higher than necessary to kill anything and everything that could get into the water. One of them got run off by the head-dude-what's-in-charge of the local water system when he tried to cut down the chlorine content. By the way, 2 of those 3 'water-waste water' guys are working for the DALLAS, TEXAS waste water system. All 3 are graduates of the local 'water-waste water' school at Crowder College, Neosho, MO. I wonder if we can get whole-house water filters with a precription from our doctor? The wife only drinks bottled water. I'm a Pepsi Freak. sledge

Not getting enough sleep can cause mental illnesses. (Drive ya crazy) And make any other medical condition much worse. I got my C-PAP in 1999 after the VA doctor diagnosed the problem in 1984. I don't try to sleep at night without it. Yes children, the darn thing bothers me too. (Panic attacks) But, my waking behavior is so different now that I will put up with even much more if I have to. I don't scare babies anymore and that's something to be proud of. sledge

Putting DMSO into your body has one very tough side affect that we should all know. It will make you smell so bad that food joints will ask you to leave. sledge

Howdy Comrades, I'm back. Actually never left. Everyone is different so don't take any of this as medical advise. The problem, Fibromyalgia and PTSD and Osgood-Schlauters and everything that comes with those different disorders. Except for female problems. Let's start with PTSD. This does some weird and terrible things to your body, mostly endocrine stuff. Fibromyalgia is a secondary syndrome that takes off after a stressful event. PTSD begetts Fibromyalgia. All of the extra war hormones running around inside the body throws everything outa wack. Let's talk thyroid. The thyroid gland gets input that adjusts the output from a brain place, kinda like the lizard brain. We have no control over what goes in or out except to take more of what we really need or try to limit what we have to much of. MD type doctors will tell ya that the thyroid STIMULATOR HORMONE value is the only test ya need to determine if the thyroid is working properly. HORSE APPLES. Think this over, the thyroid gland works because the thyroid stimulator hormone tells it to. Simple huh? However, if your body had enough thyroid hormone in it the thyroid stimulator hormone would not be present. Therefore, if the stimulator homone is present, your body needs more than the thyroid gland is currently putting out. It's easy to tell if the thyroid hormone is actually low. A low temperature with high blood pressure and high blood fat values are a good combination that spells out thyroid problems, you might need somemore thyroid hormone. The bad part? Taking A thyroid supplement does not cure PTSD. However, the thyroid supplement can help to lessen the fibromyalgia symptoms. When you feel a little better, everything feels better. Validation? My VA shrink is prescribing my thyroid hormone supplement. Armour Thyroid, 180 mg. Synthroid sucks. When I stop getting lost and learn how to cook again and sign my name again I'll let ya know. But, for now - getting up in the morning without using my cane is something to crow about. I keep trying to put on my wife's jeans too. But her's are to big. How many cans of Pepsi can you open before finishing one? How many smokes can you light-up before ya finish one? Which pills do I take at 3pm? What's a cake pan look like? No sledge, the cups are in the left cabinet, the plates are on the right. Does the car have a CD player or is it the truck? Does the car start ok if the lights are on all day while sitting in the driveway? Opps, forgot to get more distilled water for the CPAP humidifier. I wish that kid in the corner would stop moving while I'm watching TV. That little guy in black holding a gun. Where and when did I learn that Asian language that I speak in while I sleep? Peace, sledge

Comrades, I am service connected already for PTSD and FMS, [Fibromyalgia]. I showed-up for my Fibromyalgia C&P examination early. I got in early. The examiner has not the slightest idea of what to do. I'm just going to wait and see what he writes. My CAT scan was canceled in favor of an MRI that will take place later this month. My C&P for PTSD. I got to the mental health building early. The C&P was not scheduled to be held there. I asked for a map. Didn't get one. I was handed an address on a stickup note. I drove around in a strange city looking for an address 'and for the building' that the exam was supposed to take place in for a period of 2 hours. [i had also asked for a taxi or for someone to take me there.] [i have short-term memory problems]. After wasting 35 bucks worth of gas and having 2 panic attacks I went home. There was no exam. I called my lawyer today and he is not happy with the way I was treated. The day before the Cluster ---- My wife said that the VA is not out to get me. After the cluster---- she changed her mind. Comments? sledge

OOPS here, "Otherwise, the claim may still be considered open for failure to properly assist you in proving your claim and if they decided, they failed to give proper reason and basis for their decision." The failure of the Duty to Assist can never be CUE. However. The failure of the VA to inform you of your rights and proper procedures can hold open a supposed finalized claim as never being finalized. It was noted in 1996 that the RO had never informed me of my rights. A few years later they got around to it. That little boo-boo keeps my claims open from day-1 in July, 1974. My lawyer has another client for life. Having judicial review in place has been a double edged sword. We are given a higher authority to appeal to but, the higher authority has no power of enforcement. The VA can hold off granting anything and everything while we go through the lengthy process of appealing to the higher authority that has no power of enforcement. The higher court remanded my claims back to the VA because the VA had not articulated the reasons or evidence used to decide the claim decision that I was appealing. Can it get any better than that? sledge

The answer may be different from one facility to another. I had ONE doctor, VA type, writing a prescription that I had to get filled outside the VA, not formulary. Another VA doctor of the same specialty has refused to write it regardless of where it gets filled. Go figure. [i have two private sector doctors that have no problems with writing it.] After that, I musta bitched to the correct VA face. I am now getting VA meds that the VA accounting dudes said that I could not have, not formulary. The temporary, shrink, lady doctor that I just met has turned my meds procurement woes completely around. Where was she hiding for the last 15 years? Most G.I. types can tell an officer from a non-com without looking at the uniform. My temp VA shrink is of the officer breed. She looked it, acted like it and took no time at all getting my meds straightened out. I can hear her now, "Who the hell put this crap together??" "Do you people ever do anything for disabled veterans??" "I have not the time nor inclination to put up with Mickey Mouse B S." "FIX IT". I believe we could get lots more stuff taken care of IF more managers would fly south and actually talk to us. Comments? sledge

Magoo and all of the rest, "And is this for the .. "Retro Portion" .. part only ??" No. I read the whole string and I can say; "Here we go again" I am P&T and this evaluation is nothing more than a fishing trip or witch hunt or search and destroy mission. My lawyer said this crap happens all the time and is not considered to be unusual by the law firm. I believe that states a lot. --------------------------------------------- In my email from Colonel Dan, "Protecting America's wounded" - - - - - - - - - - By Mark Benjamin The Senate passed a bill Thursday to halt a plan by the Department of Veterans Affairs that lawmakers and veterans' advocates say could reopen the psychological wounds of thousands of American war vets. In May, the V.A. quietly began to draw up plans to review nearly 72,000 individual cases of veterans who in the last five years have been classified as disabled and unemployable because of mental trauma from war. Veterans' advocates have argued that a review would mainly be an attempt to cut costs, as the price tag of caring for veterans, like that of the Iraq war, continues to soar. They've also said the review would force traumatized veterans to prove their mental wounds to the department all over again, resulting in further anguish and exacerbating the stigma about war-inflicted psychological damage -- which already prevents many soldiers from seeking the help they need. http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/08/09/vets/index.html The military construction bill now has to be reconciled with a House version. If the amendment passes both chambers, it will be the second time in four months Congress has acted on veterans issues first reported by Salon. In May, Congress passed <http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/05/13/walter_reed/?sid=1343100> an amendment by Obama to stop Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington from charging outpatient soldiers for their meals while they recover from the wounds of war. The review of PTSD cases has already begun for a handful of the 72,000 veterans, such as Vietnam vet Ron Nesler, who has already suffered some of the cost that veterans' advocates say is likely to come of it. "I thought I had proved this once and it almost killed me," Nesler said in a telephone interview last month. Nesler, who served in Vietnam in 1970 and 1971, corresponded with Salon during August, after the V.A. sent him a letter in Las Cruces, New Mexico, saying the department was going to look again at whether Nesler deserved his monthly payments for 100 percent disability for PTSD. In a letter dated Aug. 11, the V.A. said that although the department had previously found Nesler disabled by PTSD, the department would once again need a description of traumatic events, reports from doctors, and official military records that might have recorded traumatic events in Vietnam. "What they are saying to me right now is that I lied about the stressors," Nesler said then. He said the process of once again having to prove his mental anguish made his anxiety, sleeping problems, flashbacks and intense fits of rage much worse. His psychiatrist wrote the V.A. last month that, "Mr. Nesler can not endure another 2 year process such as the one he went through when his disability was first approved ... It seems to me that this is grossly unfair to Mr. Nesler as well as totally inappropriate." Congress can't act fast enough to save me from the same crap that Nesler went through, I'm already there. "He said the process of once again having to prove his mental anguish made his anxiety, sleeping problems, flashbacks and intense fits of rage much worse. " ("The V.A. has since decided that Nesler does deserve his disability checks for PTSD. "I have been completely absolved," Nesler said by phone Friday. "But it almost put me in my grave. It was a horrible thing.") I was notified by phone on Thursday, 29th of September, 2005 that my C&P for PTSD was scheduled for the 6th of October, 2005. That's a time gap of one week between the notification of the new C&P and the actual appointment. I think it's relevant to mention, the new C&P is scheduled with a shrink and not the normal PHD or Medical Center Janitor or the Grave Shift Social Worker or PA. The normal, regular, witch hunt guy is a PHD and he found me to have PTSD. I'll mention this again, His first evaluation was negative for service connection. No records review. After he read my c-file he changed the opinion to POSITIVE for service connection. I wonder if he still does evaluations for the VARO? I'm tempted to [show up and just leave] if my c-file review was not included in the C&P preparations. I have PTSD, the RO knows it, the shrink knows it, the PHD knows it and he read my file, all of my counselors know it , the groups know it and TDIU was granted by the "Tiger Team", the special adjudication force. the Social Worker's opinion was tossed out, the PA's opinion was tossed out, Several examples of RO dirty tricks were tossed. My point here is: anyone who knows anything can examine my file and see ample reasons fot the grant of TDIU from PTSD. By sending me for this new evaluation I can predict that my file has not been included in this evaluation. If it had been sent to the new examiner I would not have the new C&P appointment. My lawyer already has the paperwork ready to be filed to get him a copy of the C&P evaluation opinion. In fact, it probably has already gone out. Later, sledge

Greetings, Well folks, the St. Louis Regional Office is going to make dang sure that I'm actually suffering from severe anxiety, namely PTSD. In cases of administrative errors that could result in many years of retroactive benefit money the VA will go on fishing trips in order to find an opinion that they can use to deny the benefits (retroactive MONEY). My lawyer says this is not unusual. sledge

Ok, The jerks are trying to wait you out. When they do actually grant something the award is usually off the wall somewhere. The fishing will not cease until you get to the court. In my case, the newly organized Tiger Team got me some of my earned benefits but 25 years overdue. During the Tiger Team adjudication, the Tiger Team threw out or failed to confirm most of the past reasons for my repeated denials. When they, the RO jerks, keep doing the same crap over and over again you have to go over them to the court. The court will ask the VA to state why your petition for mandamus should not be granted. The VA will do something. The mandamus no longer applies because the VA did 'something'. It happens that way every time. Before the Court, In my case the VA has still not 'articulated' why my other claims, like the earlier effective date, have not been granted. The court remanded everything back to the RO and/or BVA so the VA can articulate 3 years ago. In any decision the VA is supposed to 'articulate' WHY the decision was made and the evidence used in the decision must be discussed in the statement of the case. If not, the court can't tell 'why'. Until the VA articulates the court won't touch it because the court must have specifics before the court can act. How's that for judicial review? As long as the VA is fishing, you will not have a good enough reason to appeal to the court...... Mandamus compels the VA to act. Doing anything at all makes the mandamus issue moot. If you go to the court while the VA is still doing 'something', the court will require an explanation as to why you are seeking appelant relief while the VA is still working your claim. Pick up the applicable laws, rules and regulations before you go to the court so the court will know why you are seeking relief. Good luck, Tom