cd928

For those in the Dallas/Fort Worth area: Many may already know this but I thought I'd pass along. Parking is totally free at DFW airport if you have DV plates, or a number of other veteran plates. This is a huge money saver! https://www.dfwairport.com/parking/military/index.php

I'm currently rated 100% schedular (non P&T) for a single medical condition with a follow up C&P exam scheduled for early 2019. I have no open claims at the moment. My condition is managed through a private doctor. Would it be a good idea for me to send my doctor visit records to the VA so that they can see continued evaluation for the condition? ...Or is it better to wait until the C&P exam and show my documentation to the examiner? Sending the records seemed like a good idea at first, but then I wondered if that's like poking the VA with a stick - maybe they'll decide to move my C&P exam up. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks broncovet. I have kind of a weird situation. In a prior decision years ago, the VA rated one of my disabilities as: "0%, but 100 % during course of active illness." The effect of that was I never got paid 100%, always 0. My aim for this claim was to show them that the illness is always active. I'm guessing what they did though was just bump it up to 100 for the time period I could prove it was "active". I hope this doesn't mean I have to file a claim over and over to get the 100%. It's so odd because I haven't read about them doing this 0% / 100% to anyone else.

I saw some good news on eBenefits today. My claim was decided and they rated one of my disabilities at 100%. I'm not sure though whether this is a temporary rating. Is there a way to tell online? Will it say in the decision letter? Thanks!

Thanks to all of you for the good advice. I'll just wait and see what they do.

Hey all. My claim seems to be going oddly and I was hoping to get some advice. I put together a fully developed claim for my conditions. I had tons of medical records, nexus letters, DBQs, buddy statements, and more. I decided to file the claim on the eBenefits website. When I went to upload the evidence, I uploaded my entire claim as a single PDF file (about 70 pages). When you upload evidence, they make you choose a category. I choose "correspondence" as the most general category for this file. In retrospect, I think this may have really screwed things up (more on this later). So two days (!!) after I submit the claim, I got a call from the VA medical center to schedule my C&P exams. I was disappointed because I hoped they would decide without needing the exams. In the back of my mind though, I'm thinking, how in the world could they have already reviewed all those records in that time and decided that I need exams. I went to the C&P exams and it was immediately apparent that the examiners did not have access to the records that I submitted. Fortunately, I brought all the records with me and tried to show the examiners as many as possible. At this point, I'm really concerned that the VA is not using the documents I uploaded in consideration of my claim. I went on the website and verified that I can actually see the file I uploaded. I found the document to be there and I can download it fine. I called the 1-800 number and asked about the document. After some looking around, the guy said "well I can see the document, but I don't know if the rater will use it". Not very encouraging. It's now just two days after my C&P exams, and eBenefits says my claim is preparing for decision with an estimated completion date of this week! If that's true, that means the claim would have been decided in less than 3 weeks. I'm really thinking that the rater somehow can't see or missed my records and thinks I submitted a FDC with no evidence. Probably really quick to process those...as an automatic denial. Not sure what I should do here. Maybe Fax them the records? Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated. Thank you!

Hi All, I'm filing a claim for increased evaluation of an existing service connected disability, plus new disabilities that are secondary to my existing service connected disability. VA form 21-526b (VETERAN'S SUPPLEMENTAL CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION) looks perfect for this. However, I see a lot of conflicting information about this form. Some sources seem to indicate that it is correct for this purpose. I have seen other posts claim that the form is obsolete and should not be used. The form itself has not been updated since 2014. Filling out the form is pretty self explanatory but I can not find supplementary instructions for the form that would help answer when and If it can be used. My other option would be to use a 21-526EZ. If I used this form, it's harder to for the VA to know exactly what I'm asking for. I'm thinking I would have to submit a 21-4138 with it that explains that I'm seeking increased compensation, etc. As far as efficiency, I've seen conflicting opinions on this also. Some have said that using a 21-526b will speed my claim since it's simpler for the VA to evaluate than a whole new 21-526EZ. Others have said that it will be much slower since it cannot be considered a fully developed claim when using a 526b. All advice on this topic would be greatly appreciated! -C

May I asked how it went with your use of the 21-526b? I'm considering using this form for asking for a higher rating on a existing service connected disability. However, I've seen a lot of conflicting information, with some saying I should just use the EZ form anyway. Thanks, -C

Berta, Thank you so much for your reply. I read the VA decisions that you provided. Unfortunately, I don't think splenomegaly will help me get a better rating. The splenomegaly is mild and has not gotten better or worse since it first appeared in 2001. It is not severe enough itself to cause any negative effects. During my many workups for FUO no cause for the splenomegaly was identified. Many causes were investigated, including those in your post. I have not been hospitalized since 2006 and the VA was aware of all my hospitalizations in it's decision. I haven't been hospitalized in recent years not because I've gotten better but because doctors believe there is simply no more testing that can be done. After this many years and medical workups, it's unlikely that I have any sort of infectious disease or cancer. The best guess that doctors have is that it's some sort of obscure inflammatory disorder which may not yet be identified. During episodes of fever, I'm simply told to rest until they subside. -C

Hi All, I’m new to the forum and was hoping to get some advice. I have a really unique situation. I’ve had a recurring case of Fever of Unknown origin for 15 years. It started when I was in the Air Force and has been going on ever since. I get high fevers up to 104 for several months at a time, year after year. Even when I don’t have a fever, I have horrible fatigue. Despite many many workups and hospitalizations, doctors have not been able to figure out what causes it and have given up – I’ve been told to just live with it. So on to the VA part. I filled a claim based on this illness when I left in the Air force in 2006. The VA recognized it as Fever of Unknown Origin and gave me a rating of 0% in 2007. Here is the actual write-up that they provided me in the response: So I was really stupid and didn’t file an appeal. I was just frustrated and struggling to get on with my life outside the military. I know I can’t appeal now since It’s been many years since that decision. However, I have some questions on things I might be able do to: They said in the decision that an evaluation of 100 percent is assigned during the course of active disease. By this, I think they mean that I get 100 percent when I’m having an episode of the fevers. I called the VA and asked how I go about getting this. They were initially very confused and had to go a few supervisors up to answer my question. They then told me I’d have to file a complete new claim every time. This sounds crazy to me. I have to wait till I have a fever for a while, file a new claim and wait for however long (a year?) to get back pay of 100 percent for that time? Do I have any other options here? Could I now file a claim for all the times I’ve had periods of fever since the initial decision? The mental toll of this illness has been huge, causing me anxiety and depression. I have documentation showing that these are connected to my fever of unknown origin. Do you think it would be possible for me to file a new claim for the anxiety and depression, seeing as it was caused by a service connected illness? The documentation I have for these secondary symptoms is only after I left the Air Force. Whatever causes the fever of unknown origin has gotten worse since the decision. It now causes me constant severe fatigue, even between episodes of fever. Also, the episodes of fever come more often. I’m wondering if I could ask the VA to re-evaluate the rating based on this information. It’s difficult to maintain a job when I'm always tired and have to take time off several times a year for high fevers. I’m re-visiting my VA options here as this illness has a huge financial and emotional impact on my life and I’m hoping they would consider assisting. Sorry for the long first post. Just feeling out my options here. I greatly appreciate any and all advice. Thanks, -C