vetquest

No Sir, I have never worked for the VA.

I did file the necessary paperwork and the State of Tennessee is now my representative.

I have a unique situation, no one can access my VBMS records. I have a representative and he is locked out and gets a security message when trying to access my records. I have filed two IRIS complaints and they have been closed without doing anything for me. I have also contacted my congress critter and they were told twice that the problem was fixed to no avail. It was speculated that since I had a lawyer at one time that this was the reason that it was locked. I do not need to access my record at this time but this situation perplexes me. Has anyone had a like problem or heard of something like this?

It seems like every time they make the system "better" it hurts vets. One of my claims through the DAV was denied years ago in that it was not submitted on the correct form, I was told at the DAV that it was a dead claim. After some research I found that any correspondence to the VA was considered as a claim for disability. I was able to win this claim. Now that avenue is no longer open to vets and it is in writing that everything has to be on an accepted form or it is mute. I see the new changes as more of the same. Thanks for the update @Mr cue.

I fully agree with @pacmanx1. You need to get evaluated for headaches and find out what in the doctor's opinion has lead to the headaches. Are there any notations in your service records for being treated for headaches? This is enough to be a nexus in most situations. If a doctor relates your headaches to the in service headaches it gives you a leg to stand on. In a perfect world the VA would do this for you but they most likely will not.

Yes and no @brokensoldier244th. I have run into problems in migraine rating and been told by the VA that they look at the effects it causes for work. Some migraine medications even make it harder to work. Depakote a medication that can control migraines can cause slow thinking and cognition, even so the VA never took this into consideration. Between migraines and medication I was no longer able to work and was rated at a max of 50%. I requested extraschedular rating and was denied. Never underestimate the VA's ability to make like hard on the veteran.

Whether you deployed or stateside when the injury occurred should have no bearing on approval of a disability claim. Bertha requested that you attach a copy of your denial. That could help a lot for people trying to assist you. Remove any personal data first and then upload the denial. Yes, lawyers do take a while since they want to get all of the data and any necessary medical evidence. The process is long and lawyers want to be right the first time.

Mr. Cue. I respectfully disagree with you about the IMO's. I needed two to win my case even with all of the evidence of record. All of my neurological C&P's were performed by a doctor at the VA who was at least adversarial and at most outright hostile. He told me in my C&P exam that I was a malingerer outright. My first IMO was to the question that I was unemployable due to my conditions. My second IMO was for a nexus for neuropathy. I was worried about the second because it was so short. What the doctor said was golden though. He called out the VA doctor for not following current medical knowledge. I do not believe we should have to get IMO's to win our case but in some situations, it is necessary. Life would be much easier if the VA doctors or contractors read our medical records with an open mind and were impartial but that is not always the case.

Unfortunately, the VA rates your disability on the effect it has on you seeking work or working. If your headaches are controlled by the Botox they will probably deny an increase. I also suffer migraines from service and they do not rate migraines very well in my opinion. Totally incapacitating migraines are only rated at 50%. If you are having migraines while being treated with Botox do request an increase.

I went to the BVA the first time and won with the help of the NCOA. Ten years later I went to the BVA again and decided to hire a lawyer because the VA was playing fast and loose with the laws and CFR's in my case. Only you can make this decision but know that the service organizations are usually busy and can not always give you the time a lawyer can, it just costs you 20% of your award usually. I do not believe we should have to hire a lawyer or get expensive IMO's but sometimes that is what it takes. It's a lot better than the old days when we could not hire a lawyer by law. Those were some dark days.

I had an appointment last week at the VA for a second shot of two. I kept the appointment because they were open and I did not want to get the first shot again. We have quite a big annex and they were there, except there were few vets there. I also had an appointment with my psychiatrist through Facetime. Things are really strange out there.

I would go with broncovet's advice and file now and not wait. Your claim might take a while and it might not be done before you need the surgery. Waiting only costs you money.

What killed you is this statement. You are looking for the following language for the specified rating. Compare the 70 percent rating instructions and the 50 percent instructions to what the examiner wrote. If you want to move up in rating you will most likely need an IMO that refutes what the VA examiner said about you. Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school,family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical,obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively;impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships...................... 70 Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships........... 50 Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events)........................................... 30 Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or; symptoms controlled by continuous medication............... 10 A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication ..10

I agree with Vync. We need to raise hell about this and prevent the VA from making things harder for vets. They claim to be doing this formerly due to veterans outside of the states, I believe them about as much as I believed the VA when they first denied my claim.

You can find many different kinds of diaries on the net. Your diary carries weight if it is added to your medical records. It is your self reporting of your migraine condition and is considered important evidence unless you impeach yourself by being caught in dishonest reporting. I say this because I had a doctor try to impeach my evidence but he was shot down, they may try.

Put gin in it and I will try, I will tell my wife it is the cure and maybe she will let me start drinking again.

Good letter, it touches all of the necessary information except where it says the doctor read the pertinent parts of your service record. I have always been advised to say the doctor has read all of your STR's.

Congratulations morganpam.

I have that but when you are given 100% disability you are supposed to be 100% unable to work under the VA's own regulations. They instructed me when I got 50% that I was considered to be 50% unable to work and that I still had a 50% ability to work. When I got 100% it was supposed to be that I was 100% unable to work. That is why it is so hard to get 100%, supposedly. Then they make 100% veterans able to work. As I have said it before I do not get it but maybe we are not supposed to understand the VA.

I am receiving VA disability and Social Security concurrently. Your friend is in a special situation though in that SS is paying for his wife's medical care. I would take hamslice's advice and see about consulting a family planning lawyer for one visit. It is always better to have professional advice when your situation is unique.

@Richard1954, that is a bummer to hear. I hope that you get to spend a few good years with your wife. God Bless and God Speed.

I have received good service at the VA before but I have also received service that would make your toes curl. I am one who tries to get most of my care off the VA campus in that I have Tricare. I have run in to some neurologists at the VA that would tell me thank-you for your service as they twisted the knife. After reading their notes I knew I would never see them again. Funny thing is they were probably doing that to everyone because for some reason the Johnson City VA closed it's neurology department without explanation. As for the mental health at the VA I have received pretty good care while an inpatient. The only thing I can complain about is that the VA diagnosed me with every mental health condition under the sun (about eight) they could before declaring I had PTSD.

Good answer by broncovet. Your case might be done by now but you need to wait for the actual envelope to know the outcome. Otherwise we are all just guessing.

As the others have said it takes the VA as long as it takes the VA. We have all been through it. Once you have filed and submitted all relevant information try to get a hobby to take your mind off of your case. It will drive you crazy otherwise. Appeals to the BVA can be completed in a few years to more than ten. It is a long journey sometimes.

@FINAZ57 You might get it after a trip to the BVA. You never know until you try. As for lawyers, I would interview a few of them and see which one appears to match up to you best. Some will deny your case and others will take it so do not get discouraged until you have tried several. Good Luck.