vetquest

As far as your PTSD and migraines, one improving and one getting worse, the VA is very subjective on these decisions.  A lot depends on how the doctor writes the C&P and how good a day your rater is having.  It is unfortunate that it happens this way but this is how the VA works.  In the migraine decision it worked out in your favor, in the PTSD opinion it could hurt you later.  Keep your appointments and your medication on schedule.  The VA usually sees not having appointments and not taking your medication as an improvement.  
As for losing your job it would have been better if you stayed to the bitter end (that information is for anyone else reading this and still employed).  Then you have documentation of losing your job due to your service connected disability.  I would file for TDIU and request your supervisor and/or human resources to write a letter detailing how your disabilities make your work substandard.  If you file for TDIU they will send a letter to your employer anyway.  I went on FMLA and then was terminated when my doctor said I could no longer continue my job.  If you are denied then appeal to the BVA when necessary.  Some people get TDIU on their first try, it took me ten years.
Good luck awgv001. 

I was rated for migraines ten years after service with evidence that I started having headaches after a heat injury.  If you have evidence of headaches in service and a current diagnosis of migraines it is not an impossibility to get rated.   You need evidence that you had headaches in service, that you are having migraines now and you need is a civilian doctor to say that your migraines are related to your service and provide you a nexus, "it is at least likely as not that he patient's migraines started in service" or something along those lines.  
If you are denied and you have all of the three requirements I would appeal to the BVA.

Dwight, no the VA is not obligated to go with the highest rating since there was no ROM measurement.  The claim will most likely cause another C&P or will be denied without the measurements and you will have to appeal for a new C&P. 

USN806, I figured your rating on a bilateral calculator and find you at 100% due to the two shoulder injuries.  I am under the same due to bilateral of the legs and arms.  Yes you can still work since you are not TDIU.  I have never figured out how that works that you are totally disabled but can work but that is a decision made by people who are supposed to be smarter than me.

Gee, that's a difficult one.  When I have migraines I can lose sight, balance, and have other issues (I appear very drunk).  The VA has denied me any grace about these symptoms because they go away after the migraine ends.  We have to play on the VA's dime and they do not consider migraines that serious.  The National migraine association (magnum) petitioned congress to change the ratings for migraine many years ago but it never went anywhere.

Good attitude.  If I recall correctly they do not reduce you immediately if you appeal.  That could be why nothing has changed.  Stay the course.

If you think you will get your records within a year, go ahead and file and Intent to File claim for the back spasm issue. At least you can reserve your effective date if it is approved.
Don't forget to consider radiculopathy. If the pain or neurological issues go down your arms and/or legs, be sure those are claimed too. If it impacts both arms or both legs, they will rate those nerves bilaterally.

I think I have to agree with Pete here.  I have an NOD that is supposed to take two years for completion.  I am at somewhere around a year and a few months, I try not to dwell on it and look it up.  I think they are punishing the veterans who stayed in the old system.  I have never seen an NOD take this long before.

Symptoms of MDD and the symptoms of TBI VA says that they cannot distinguish between the two disabilities and they are both rated under mental disorders.  read this it might help
https://cck-law.com/blog/how-va-rates-mental-health-conditions/

Supposedly I read this and it said that issue is either out already or in the works....hurry up and wait head tuck in between our legs 

Unique, is there a program for veterans before Sept 11, 2001 or are we just hamburger?

Peggy will not tell you the outcome of your claim, they will tell you to wait for your letter.  If you have a VSO or lawyer though they should be able to access VBMS and tell you the status though.

1454th Soldier Welcome to Hadit. As you know, you need 3 things for success: a current diagnosis of a disability now; an event or illness that happened in-service, and something called a nexus to link the two. Did you have documented in your records sleep issues and/or depression or mental health issues? If not, since you can't prove s-c directly, the only way is as a secondary condition. I am not a doctor, and my guess is you aren't in the medical field either. So you will need a strong independent medical opinion (IMO) that your depression is the result of your tinnitus. Just making the claim isn't going to fly. They need a medical opinion based on evidence from a medical professional. But before you do that, you have to have a diagnosis for depression, or some other mental health condition. It is possible you can get them both from the same doc. I don't know of anyone personally who did this successfully, but I have heard of it being done. Sleep disorder second to tinnitus? Don't know. You have to get another specialist for that. The doc has to come up with medical evidence to prove the point, from medical articles and journals, etc. and say that " based on ... it is at least as likely as not your depression is secondary to tinnitus,"  or words similar. It would greatly help your case if you do the research for yor doc and present him with some options.

I think I have to agree with Pete here.  I have an NOD that is supposed to take two years for completion.  I am at somewhere around a year and a few months, I try not to dwell on it and look it up.  I think they are punishing the veterans who stayed in the old system.  I have never seen an NOD take this long before.

Congratulations.  Whatever backpay you get, take some time to think about what to do with it, then pay off bills and see how much you have left.  Some us waited so long our bills ate most of our backpay and we were right back where we started, just in a little better financial condition.  Go for 100% or at least TDIU.

The BVA may hasten your claim in response to your age.  They are usually pretty good about that, especially when the judge mentions it.  Your case will be decided and you will get a statement that defines your award and why the board decided in that way.  I doubt they will remand for residuals, unless you have already requested them.  At your age, I would get appointments to have the residuals looked at with the VA as your VSO advises.  They may still ask for C&P's and that is totally up to the regional office, even on a remand.  Good Luck.

Even with a good IMO/IME the rater will still ignore the evidence you submit.  This is something I am repeatedly learning.  For lack of a better word and I hate to say things like this but I think they are just lazy.  There could be an argument that they are short staffed and undermanned and when you add that to the pressure of needing to quickly complete claims things could be missed.  The problem here is that the errors should be made in favor of the veteran and not against.  My claims have an IME that was for every disability that was claimed. 
My recent Supplemental claims was closed this weekend and I was only awarded 10% for Bilateral Pes Planus.  There were 10 claims on this supplemental including "Bilateral Pes Planus with Plantar Fasciitis" which was diagnosed in service.  They gave me Pes Planus and completely ignored the Plantar Fasciitis and on top of that I submitted Private Medical Records showing cortisone shots for treatment of my Plantar Fasciitis.  So  a clear error was they did not adjudicate the Plantar Fasciitis.....that is just one of many I am sure. 
My C&P exam for feet was bad and they completed the supplemental claim before I could challenge the exam.   I think this was intentional because early on they gave me a C&P exam for my back and 30 days later I was able to review the results.  The examiner did everything wrong and made things up that I never said.  This is contradicted by the lay statements I submitted when I filed my claim so it is proof that the examiner never reviewed it.  Hell he did not even use a goniometer.   Well I challenged this exam submitting a memorandum to the VA and it was completely ignore.  Nothing was done about it.   It will come to bite them in the ass because it was a matter of record and no matter what they still have to account for it. 
I am going the BVA route and I am hiring an attorney.  While I think my claim is a slam dunk I learned there is no such thing with the VA and I am going to have a qualified seasoned veteran take care of this for me even if I have to overpay.   Getting 70% to 80% of something is better than 100% of nothing. 

I haven’t a clue what you can do but I would file a letter in your file that the examiner stated they would hospitalize you if you admitted you have had suicidal  thoughts in the past . I would call your psy doc or your mental health professional get an appt and have them put it in your file you were afraid of beIng hospitalized so you said no never.
i have those thoughts all the time and I do have a plan and it’s all documented in my file.  But I’m not suicidal at my psy visit  just severely depressed at times and I have a pact that I will call her first before I execute my plan and I will.
I believe I was asked if I was currently suicidal in my C&P.  I would get it corrected immediately.  I’d file addition evidence titled statement of correction saying that your understanding from what she said you would be hospitalized if you admitted to suicidal thought within the past 3 yrs.  
I don’t think the patient advocate can help.  Go to medical records and tell them you want have a statement put in your records.  Get a copy when it’s done and send to VARO or your VSO
im sure it’s documented in your records you have these thoughts and now your saying no basically you lied.
Get it corrected!
 

@Bedells, I would challenge this exam.  I have suicidal ideation and have had for a while.  I have never been threatened with immediate hospitalization if I answer yes to this question.  I have spent time in the VA ward though for mental health.  I was voluntary, not involuntary,  I was invited for two weeks.  My wife handles my finances and I have never been threatened with a fiduciary.  
I believe this examiner was playing a game of hardball with you.  I do not do well in such an environment so you handled it better than I would have.  I most likely have blown a gasket, which I have done before and been flagged for before.
You handled it well, now ask for another exam and explain why if asked.

Been there @LanceJoseph, I do not have SDVI either.

The real bummer is when I received my award letter from the BVA in 2018 it was just that, an award letter. It did not go into any additional benefits that might be afforded to me. Now with the most recent increases on Dec 2019 I was granted an award letter with reasonings and also had a page labeled additional benefits, Which is why I assumed I had plenty of time. 

Unfortunately the VA lives and dies by their dates.  I had a case where they tried to end my appeal to the BVA by stating that I and/or my VSO did not file the proper form 9.  I was lucky in that I filed a statement with my appeal and it used to be that you could file your form 9 on a napkin and have it valid.  The VA has since closed that loop hole.  I know of no way to override a date error on our part.

You can be scheduler and TDIU for SMC purposes.  If you are 100% scheduler for a single disability you would need another disability at 60% to get SMC.  If you have one disability responsible for TDIU that is not 100% and others that add up to 60% you get SMC due to the TDIU disability.  This is a situation that many people do not understand.  Why it is done this way is to maximize the benefits afforded you.  If your scheduler made your TDIU go away you would lose the SMC when you are in this situation.  I am in this situation myself.  I have 70% due to PTSD which qualifies me for TDIU and am also 100% scheduler but would not be eledgible for SMC due to not having a single disability at 100%.

For your nexus you need a doctor to state that they have reviewed all of your records, including service records and a statement that the apnea is at least as likely as not due to your SC rhinitis.  Without this you will most likely be denied.  It is usually the hardest hurdle to surmount when we try to get benefits with a private nexus.  We all have gone through this at one time or another.  Most civilian doctors will not do this for a SC nexus, this leaves you searching for a specialist in IME/IMO's who is not wary of the VA.  I really wish we could guarantee doctors that they will not be called up by the VA to testify as it is this that most doctors appear to be wary of.
 

For your nexus you need a doctor to state that they have reviewed all of your records, including service records and a statement that the apnea is at least as likely as not due to your SC rhinitis.  Without this you will most likely be denied.  It is usually the hardest hurdle to surmount when we try to get benefits with a private nexus.  We all have gone through this at one time or another.  Most civilian doctors will not do this for a SC nexus, this leaves you searching for a specialist in IME/IMO's who is not wary of the VA.  I really wish we could guarantee doctors that they will not be called up by the VA to testify as it is this that most doctors appear to be wary of.