vetquest

@Buck52 Thank you and definitely thanks to you and everyone else here.
We cannot forget our dearly departed fellow member @carlie. When I joined back in 2008, she took me under her wing. I had been at 40% since 1995 and I won a new claim pushing me to 60%. After that, I learned from everyone else and made it to 100% in 2013. Since then, I am still continuing to fight the good fight. Now, I am trying to help make a difference for other members. I don't know everything, but if you don't stand for something you will fall for anything (meaning VA rubber stamp denials). Never give up!

🍒🍒🍒🍒  I have verified through ebenefits that my NOD through the legacy system is granted.  It took several years but it shows that the VA granted an EED of ten years minus a month.   

 

Thank-you Tbird and buck52 and broncovet.  When I found hadit I was in the middle of applying for TDIU for a disability that caused my early out from service some twenty five years prior.  I had already won some pretty close fights but was now dealing with a VA that stopped following the CFR's.  It took ten years but I was at 100% and SMC S.  I have learned how to fight the VA and how to help others that come later, and some that have gone before.  But we at Hadit must also remember Asknod.  With his guidance I won an EED claim that encompassed ten years of backpay for SMC S.  Thank-you one and all.

Thank-you Tbird and buck52 and broncovet.  When I found hadit I was in the middle of applying for TDIU for a disability that caused my early out from service some twenty five years prior.  I had already won some pretty close fights but was now dealing with a VA that stopped following the CFR's.  It took ten years but I was at 100% and SMC S.  I have learned how to fight the VA and how to help others that come later, and some that have gone before.  But we at Hadit must also remember Asknod.  With his guidance I won an EED claim that encompassed ten years of backpay for SMC S.  Thank-you one and all.

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.

Normally you will not get a reduction but that does not mean they will not try.  When I was appealing TDIU the VA called one of my disabilities service connected in error and another rated incorrectly.  They wanted to sever and reduce my disabilities.  Needless to say they got caught in a blender and wound up not getting their way.  The VA is not your friend and will sometimes do everything in their power to make your life miserable.  They claim to be a non adversarial that is there to help the veteran as best they can, believe that at your peril. 

You are right about the first one.  The second one is doubtful, BVA decisions are looked at as non binding decisions, unlike Court of Veterans Appeals cases which are binding and precedence.  You can include BVA decisions where they are most like yours.  I did this once in an appeal and it did me no good.  What is most important is what your doctor writes in your nexus letter as far as medical precedence.  Medical reports in publications are peer reviewed and carry weight.  
What I would get out of BVA decisions like yours are the COVA references that might apply to your case.  Case in point is where a veteran is appealing an EED for SMC.  He would cite the reference where the VA is supposed to give the veteran maximum benefit.  "Buie v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 242, 250 (2011); AB v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 35, 38 (1993); see also Bradley v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 280 (2008)."

Yes, the doctor is testifying that they have examined you and your records in the DBQ.  I guess it could be done as a forensic review but I have not myself personally had one or known one other than Berta's.

Awgv001.  I understand that you are in the process of a remand right now.  A little good news, if you disagree with the remand you can write a statement and appeal to the BVA again.  You keep your first date and jump to the front of the line at the BVA since your case is a remand and carries the original date.  

Follow broncovet's instructions and also see if your last manager and human resources will write a letter on your behalf.  These help also.  Since you have been working I would also file for Social Security.  Filing for IU with all of these means that you will have a good chance of being approved on the first go around.  If not then go to the BVA and fight.  Never quit or surrender with the VA.  

I had a NP do a peripheral neuropathy exam once.  Do like awgv001 advises.  You will probably get low balled on your migraine issue.  You need to appeal for a higher rating normally.  I would also start a headache diary.  These are very important in showing how severe your migraines are.  It is good that you have the first two pillars of a successful VA case.  Hopefully the C&P will show the nexus, that is what they are supposed to be for, if not then you need it from a civilian doctor with the statement that they read your STR's and that your condition is more likely than not the result of your military duties.

From my family and I,
Thank you all!
Thanks to this forum, and the fountain of knowledge in the community,
I started off on my journey hurt, confused, and angry -
I was separated from service, with unclaimed/poorly evaluated injuries.
Then, I wasn't familiar with the process, what I could claim, what the injuries I had were called, or who to see to get the appropriate treatment. I still learn new things every day!
To say that in my experience, I was chewed on and spat out, is an understatement. From poor notes in my original exam by a doctor who seemed to care less, and the same from an off base neurologist. I got passed along from place to place. The doctors knew they were getting paid, seemingly regardless of the quality of their work.
Recently, the picture has become much clearer, and more of my fellow veterans came by my side, some that I served with, who shared their testimonies, and helped me regain control over my butchered claims.
 
The circumstances nearly put my family through homelessness.
The circumstances nearly killed my wife (Type 1 Diabetic...Can't live without insulin, which means you HAVE to be able to afford insurance - because paying completely out of pocket would be financial suicide, thus begins the vicious cycle of "do I eat, or do I pay for insulin?")
To quote Google "A person with type 1 diabetes incurred annual insulin costs of $5,705, on average, in 2016. The average cost was roughly half that at $2,864 per patient in 2012, according to a report due to be released on Tuesday by the nonprofit Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI)."
This doesn't reflect costs of specialist co-pays, endocrinology, and a host of other devices, tubes, lancets, Bgs strip tests.....JUST THE INSULIN COST.
Also, the circumstances nearly killed me - My glimmer of hope was fading fast.
Unfortunately, while witnessing our struggles, my father succumbed to illness.
Hadit elders and family ensured that I did not derail on my path through the claims process.
The ship is nearly on course now, and we're out of the choppy water.
Now, it's time toss other Veterans the lifesaver and help them find their way along with us!
I am forever grateful, and humbly look forward to helping others in need to the best of my ability here on Hadit.
I've got your 6.

Buck,
Everyone's story is different, but our adversary remains undetoured. 
With your help and all the help of others on here,
I too find hope and I trudge on,
Thanks,
Hamslice
 

Buck, you sir are also greatly appreciated. When I found this site like others, "I was mad as hell and I couldn't take it anymore." I remember the quote but I don't remember who said it. This site is somewhat therapy for me. Plus I can glean a little about my own claim.  Never could I imagine that so many veterans would be going through some of the same situations. Even some are so dang close to my claim I can swear that someone is looking at my claim and posting or responding to my post and it is scary.  Maybe it is my paranoia but they are real close.  Dealing with some of the Sugar Honey Ice Tea I had to go through, I don't want any other veteran/person to go through it.  I went way below rock bottom and I am still trying to crawl my way out/up.  The disability is just one factor but when you add losing your family and your home it makes thing even harder. I know there are some horror stories out there about what some veterans had to go through while VA decided their claim/fate that you would really not believe and really not want to hear because of the true gut punch feelings that would just make you sick. 

so the NP doing your C&P exam is not saying they know Neuro or anything like that, so IMO you should have your information for Neuro for them to base their OPINION on.  The C&P person will look up information, but if you give them a road map from my experience they will tend to follow it.  This is not always the case and you should come at it from all angles, but this has worked for me!

You have to have all 3 of the Caluza elements to establish direct service connection.
Why limit Migraines as secondary to tinnitus? If you have a chronic diagnosis, Nexus, and (complaints - treatment - witnesses), then use that evidence from those documents and then the VA will have to figure out how to connect them, and whether it's secondary or not to anything.
Redact  your information from the Neuro's report, and the decision letter, and the report of event/injury, and post it up here for us. Then we may be able to better assist you without speculating as much.
Without the Nexus, your claim doesn't have enough ground to stand on yet. Your PCP or a Neuro could do the Nexus part if they agree to. (This would be supplemental with the new evidence)
A neurologist doing the C&P carries more weight than an NP, however, an NP can do your C&P.
I am not an Attorney or VSO, any advice I provide is not to be construed as legal advice.

🍒🍒🍒🍒  I have verified through ebenefits that my NOD through the legacy system is granted.  It took several years but it shows that the VA granted an EED of ten years minus a month.   

 

Hate to say it, but toddt is probably correct. You need to have a current diagnosis on your SA. You also have to have the nexus,: how is that connected to your back. The other stuff you have is supporting, but if you don't get a IMO on the nexus, IMO it won't go. You need a qualified doc to say why they are related. You didn't say: do you have to use a CPAP? If so, you're doc has to say not only it id prescribed, but it is absolutely essential for your health. If approved, that would net you a 50% rating, not 10 or 30%. Spend the money; invest in an IMO.

🍒🍒🍒🍒  I have verified through ebenefits that my NOD through the legacy system is granted.  It took several years but it shows that the VA granted an EED of ten years minus a month.   

 

🍒🍒🍒🍒  I have verified through ebenefits that my NOD through the legacy system is granted.  It took several years but it shows that the VA granted an EED of ten years minus a month.   

 

It sounds like the VA has made a mess of this.  If your effective date is not your claim date they are probably saying your effective date is the date of your last examination.  I do not know how they messed this up so bad but that is not surprising for the VA.  You can contact the VA and tell them they will most likely give you a solid effective date.  Depending on the information in your files and the decision you may want to appeal for an EED.  I was just successful in claiming an earlier effective date though what is now the HLR so it is possible.   Please provide us information as shrekthetank1 has requested and we will do all we can to help.

Unemployability (IU) assumes that  you cannot work at all, even though you are rated less than 100% by the schedule. The regs say that you cannot do gainful meaningful employment, which is a standard that SSDI uses as well. I know veterans that work, and people on SSDI that work, but SSDI people lose money from SSDI based on the amount they made in income. VA doesn't do that but if you work and make over poverty level you are looking to have some issues, big ones. They will assume that you are potentially getting better and they can pull you in for a re-evaluation. There are such things as "protected environments" (actual quote) where the employer has made major concessions to your disability, or you are working in a sheltered environment like for family, but the legalities of this, while legal, get really tied up in legalese at the Dept of Labor over what actually IS one of those situations, and DOL seems to take it on a case by case basis. Best not to tempt it. 
I had IU temporarily, I found out, for about 6 months. My claim for increase was not yet settled at the time, and I was being paid at 90%. When my claim finished, they called me 100% P and T (permanent and total) and paid that backpay increase amount to when I filed. They then backpayed me another 6 months back to when I came off of FMLA and still could not work according to CIGNA (my disability provider for work) and had filed for IU, but as TDIU. It was weird and ive not seen it talked about in forum here or elsewhere. It makes sense, and the amount was the same, so it wasn't a net gain, but I never asked to be P and T and would have been happy with IU. *shrug*
If you are on IU its best not to work or to push it, unless you are doing under the table stuff or hobby working. If you are 100 by schedule you are freed of this limitation and can work as much as your disability permits you to. 

Are you within 1 year of separation from the military?  Normally they will not go back past the date filed unless you are within that first year.  Or are you sure you did not start the claim 6 months earlier and then finish it later?
Your dates are kind of all over the place.  Once you get the letter take out your personal information and post it if you would like us to see if there is an error. 

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.

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.