[Back is Getting Worse Need to Request New Rating]

On 8/21/2018 at 2:48 PM, vetquest said:

See if your neurologist will state in a letter you can no longer work due to your service connected condition.  Also see if you cannot get a neurological DBQ and then have your neurologist fill it out.  I believe this is the correct one.  If it is not then someone will be along to correct me.

https://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-0960C-10-ARE.pdf

Unfortunately, I don't have a neurologist.  I have an idiot that I hope to never see again that told me to f off and die.  "Find a job where you don't have to walk or stand."  and "Don't let anyone operate on you."  I fought for a second opinion and got a civilian neuro who told me there is nothing he can do except give me drugs to deal with it, I need to see a neuro surgeon.  The VA refused to send me to a neuro surgeon and sent me to an ortho whose assistant told me that while civilian medical would do a surgery because of profit motives, the VA would not.  

Typing that will now leave me too pissed off to do much for a while. 

[Back is Getting Worse Need to Request New Rating]

On 8/15/2018 at 4:15 PM, brokensoldier244th said:

They rate the back as 1 system, so stenosis, DDD, etc, all encompass the same thing, though you can get rated for nerve impingement separate, and you may be able to get separately rated for cervical spine vs. lumbar, etc- but I dont know for sure on that. I have a 40% back rating and 20% each leg due to the nerve impingement, for example. Stenosis, arthritis, etc, are all encompassed in the DDD back rating.

Thank you for your reply.  I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get back here.  I have some things going on.

That the DDD and it's associated conditions are rated together I can wrap my head around.  What is confusing me is when I looked at the nerve ratings for the weakness it doesn't read like it counts unless you have paralysis.  Is the rating determined from 4.124a-13  Diseases of the Peripheral Nerves?  Or somewhere else?

That is the kind of information I need to get to file a claim, right?  

Thank you again.

[Back is Getting Worse Need to Request New Rating]

I have been researching this for a while and I keep ending up here at HadIt reading old threads.  So, now that I am ready to ask questions I have com to you.  I appreciate the knowledge I have acquired here already.  Thank you all.

My situation is that I was service connected rated 20% for Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD L2-3 and L5-S1) limited mobility as well as 10% each for a shoulder, both knees and PTSD back in 2011.  50% total rating.  This was done through the Army/VA program when they told me I couldn't play with them anymore.

Fast forward to last year and I began to have numbness and tingling in my legs from standing for more that 20 minutes at a time.  Over the course of the year it shortened to 10 minutes and I was experiencing warm and cold flush sensations in my thighs.  In November I had bad sciatic pain and a steroid pack resolved it.  Then in January this year it went precipitously downhill.  I started having numbness start from my groin to just below my knees after 5 or so minutes.  I was down to 5 - 10 minutes of stand or walk time and I started getting wobbly and falling down if I pushed it.  I had to stop working in April because I was stumbling and scared that I was going to fall off the ladder I climbed repeatedly throughout the day.

So I have had MRIs and an EMG and fought with doctors and it appears that all the VA is willing to do is give me a shot in the back and leave me crippled.  The diagnosis is lumbar radiculopathy.  The MRIs show two herniated discs (L4-5 and L5-S1 and a bulging disc above at L3-4) as well as stenosis and multiple moderate and severe nerve impingements at these levels.  The EMG shows "electro-diagnostic evidence of L5-S1 radiculopathy.

Given that I apparently need to grab a Snickers while the VA medical side struggles to do medicine, I figure I need to file a claim on the worsening back and the neurological deficits that it is creating.  My problem is this:  I'm not sure how I should make the new claim and what it should be for, exactly.  I contacted the American Legion rep for my county and he basically said he just files paperwork.

I have looked at 4.71a and I get the rating for the spine itself.  I'll need to get them to do a measurement for flexion to see if I meet the criteria for that to change.  When I go looking for the neurological stuff I get lost.  Same goes for the stenosis and arthritis.  I can't seem to figure out how they get rated and what I would present from my file to establish the criteria.  I have to think the numbness and loss of strength from standing / walking leading to falls have some place in this.  If someone can give me some help and guidance I would be eternally grateful.

Then there is the whole how do you write it up so that the paper shuffler who has a couple minutes to go-nogo the packet sees what they need to see.  But that is a separate matter for when I have the what figured out, I suppose.

Thank you all again for any help you can provide.