vetquest

I cannot help you much but I will do what I can, anybody else that can chime in please do. I would first try to see the patitent advocate at the VA facility you use. If that is a dead end I would call the national office of the DAV and see if anyone there can help you. They usually have senior VSO's at the national office that represent veterans at the BVA level. Good luck and let us know what you find out so we may be able to help a veteran following in your footsteps.

If you have a doctor that states your IBS is at least as likely as not the result of your PTSD it is doctor against doctor. The good news is that the VA is supposed to give the benefit of the doubt to the veteran. As the BVA wrote when they awarded my neuropathy "the tie goes to the runner". You can only find VA case law at the COVA level. What you could do is research BVA cases for IBS and PTSD and see if any cross paths and the regulations that were cited in the cases. It is a time consuming task but one that could possibly help you. That is how I found references that I used to challenge my case. https://www.index.va.gov/search/va/bva.jsp

Don't be nervous. It is a test that you cannot fail. Even if you could; that would indicate serious issues that they are looking for as in 100% PTSD.

I am a 100% veteran and spend a lot of time with church activities. I may look normal, if you overlook the leg braces, but most of my disability is invisible. I question my disability many times but my wife reminds me that I have a very compromised memory and I am not always fully up to par.

Never been tested for 100% PTSD permanent and total but have been extensively tested for psychiatric and neuropsychiatric disability. Some of the tests rate your honesty and some of the tests look for malingering but all in all they test to see where you are in your present state. As long as you answer honestly and try to complete the tests in a forthright manner you should do fine. I am 70% PTSD and have some cognitive problems.

One thing is positive and that is that you most likely will not get 100% immediately after surgery. See if your doctor will state that the knee replacement is at least as likely as not due to your service injuries. If your doctor is willing to do that you should be good to file your claim. You will most likely get a new C&P followed by a decision. Your new claim will then likely be rolled into your current claim. Do not be surprised if you are denied the first time you file and have to go to the BVA. I do not believe you are reading too much into the situation. Service connected injuries sometimes get worse as you get older and the VA knows this.

I agree with Bronco. Get your decision and then decide the direction you want to take. It looks like they low balled you on all of your conditions.

I still think that you can appeal on the grounds that the favorable evidence for high blood pressure was not given enough weight, especially since a PA disagrees with a medical doctor. Your sleep apnea may be harder to get approved since the VA is denying a lot of these claims.

I agree Buck. This is where the VSO's get their spiel about not rocking the boat and getting your benefits reduced. After a ten year battle I was awarded 100% scheduler P&T and the first thing a VSO said was to not try for EED because they might lower my disability rate. The thought of them lowering my benefits is beyond the pale.

Your IMO should be listed in the evidence reviewed. If it was not this is reason in itself for appeal. I had buddy letters that were mentioned in evidence but the BVA called out the rater for not considering them. I would read your decision carefully to ensure that the IMO was not mentioned in passing and then appeal on these grounds.

I know little to nothing about MST but I can relate to a PTSD diagnosis. I have PTSD due to injuries suffered in service. When my rep first filed for this benefit he told me that your benefits are earned by your giving the best part of your life to your country and being injured in the process.

Yes, please do apply but don't stop when you receive your first award. The VA likes to play a numbers game. If they have a lot of vets receiving small disability amounts it looks good for the number of veterans they are serving. What they do not want to do is give you a substantive award like 100%. They can give a whole bunch of veterans 10% or 20% for what it costs to give a single veteran 100%. Some will call me divisive but this is the game they play.

In a perfect world. I once needed my medication prescribed at a new facility. I was told I was a new patient and could not get an appointment for six months. I told the senior vetrep at my service organization about this. He happened to be at a meeting between the VA and service organizations a few days later. The question of vets getting their appointments at new facilities after they had moved came up. The VA rep told the service reps that this was not a problem and my vetrep dropped the hammer on him. I got an appointment several days later.

TDIU becomes your VA check at the 100% rate. The only way to add on additional monies I am aware of is SMC, or special monthly compensation.

If you are not filing within one year it will be the date filed or the date the VA decides you are disabled. This is a wrinkle in the system where the VA will not declare you disabled until the date of your C&P. In that case you need to fight for an earlier effective date, but I am getting the cart in front of the horse. If you have been unemployable since 2012 and never filed a claim you are most likely stuck to the date you file. I realize this might be bad news but it is the nature of the beast. Not sure what your last question means but if they backdate anything it is payed at the rate from January of that year. You should be able to research a site that tell you historic amounts.

Dan T., there is only one thing to remember about the online system and that is that it is not always accurate. It depends on whether your claim is at the RO or the BVA among other things. Some people see it updated immediately and others wait for weeks. I know that is not the answer you are looking for but be patient. Wait for your envelope and read your decision carefully. Also file a FOIA request to get your C&P's. If you do not get what you want look there for where your next move is.

Shilohlee, I had a similar experience with a contract C&P. The doctor told me upfront she was not there to reduce my benefits and was going to be fair with me. I got a copy of the C&P and it was a very well written report that lead to an increase from 50% to 70%. She seemed very concerned about my chances of suicide also noting that I was at risk. I have had two contract C&P's, the other one for my physical conditions, and they were both well written and much better than I have had by VA doctors.

Why is it that all congress people retire as millionaires?

Not so good a rating for Tennessee hospitals.

Bronco, you would be making the jobs of so many problem makers obsolete. The union would not like that.

I have private insurance and use the VA as little as possible due to this. Most of the nurses at the local station are really great but the front office staff are noncommittal to rude. They know they cannot be fired and treat you the veteran as an annoyance when they have to work or do something. If you really want to know how the VA really works file a complaint about someone. It changes nothing and you the veteran will be singled out as a troublemaker. I was actually warned about this when a doctor treated me very unprofessionally at the VA and I went to patient affairs.

I have wondered about this for a while now. It seems like recently people have been pushing programs that "cure" PTSD. Some of the people pushing this are veterans themselves. I do not know how they could cure PTSD. I experience my stressor almost every day. I have recently started getting chest pains again. No, I know it is not a heart problem. I have been in counseling for twenty some years, even by someone who specialized in PTSD. I did not ask for this problem and never asked to be diagnosed with PTSD.

If you are already on SSI or SSDI ask the VA to acquire your records from Social Security right now if you have not already. While your C&P is not really what you need for TDIU your SS records would most likely be what you need without getting an IMO. They will show that you are unable to work. If you weren't granted outright and had to go before a judge it would carry more weight. If you can try to get some buddy statements as to how difficult it is for you to work, preferably from a previous employer if you left on good terms. I would also try to get one from your psychiatrist. It should show the psychiatrist's qualifications and should say that you are totally disabled due to your bipolar condition that you acquired in the military. It should also show your current GAF. You might need to take this to the BVA as the RO's are barely competent. In my case they ignored my SSI records and buddy statements and I had to go to the BVA before anyone read them. It took me ten years but that is not usually the norm.

You titled this TDIU. Do you want to apply for TDIU? You can with your current exam if you are not working and have lost a job due to your disability or you are working in a manner that is considered marginal employment.

"A Veteran is considered to have been in sound condition when examined, accepted and enrolled for service, except as to defects, infirmities, or disorders noted at entrance into service, or where clear and unmistakable (obvious or manifest) evidence demonstrates that an injury or disease existed prior thereto and was not aggravated by such service. 38 U.S.C.A. § 1111; 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(b). This presumption attaches only where there has been an induction examination in which the later complained-of disability was not detected. See Bagby v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 225, 227 (1991). Only such conditions as are recorded in examination reports are considered as noted. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(b). History of pre-service existence of conditions recorded at the time of examination does not constitute a notation of such conditions but will be considered together with all other material evidence in determinations as to inception. 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(b)(1). VA's General Counsel has held that to rebut the presumption of sound condition under 38 U.S.C. § 1111, VA must show by clear and unmistakable evidence both that the disease or injury existed prior to service and that the disease or injury was not aggravated by service. The claimant is not required to show that the disease or injury increased in severity during service before VA's duty under the second prong of this rebuttal standard attaches. VAOPGCPREC 03- 2003; see also Wagner v. Principi, 370 F.3d 1089 (Fed. Cir. 2004). In deciding a claim based on aggravation, after having determined the presence of a pre-existing condition, the Board must first determine whether there has been any measured worsening of the disability during service and then whether this constitutes an increase in disability. See Browder v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1993); Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155, 163 (1993). A pre-existing injury or disease will be considered to have been aggravated by active service where there is an increase in disability during such service, unless there is a specific finding that the increase in disability is due to the natural progress of the disease. Aggravation may not be conceded where the disability underwent no increase in severity during service on the basis of all the evidence of record pertaining to the manifestations of the disability prior to, during, and subsequent to service. 38 U.S.C.A. 1153; 38 C.F.R. 3.306. Temporary or intermittent flare-ups of the pre-existing condition during service are not sufficient to be considered aggravation unless the underlying condition, as contrasted to symptoms, has worsened. Crowe v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 238, 247- 48 (1994); Hunt v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 292, 296-97 (1991). Accordingly, "a lasting worsening of the condition" -- that is, a worsening that existed not only at the time of separation but one that still exists currently -- is required. See Routen v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 183, 189 n. 2 (1997); see also Verdon v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 529, 538 (1996). “ _______ This is something Bertha unearthed five years ago but it is still pertinent today.