Johhny_Drama

I am confused on the EED date? Ok so my appeal went through RAMP process and the appeal items were from when I got out. They were considered service connected and just either low rating and 1 was a 0 rating. When I appealed, my overall rating was a 40 percent. So from the time I appealed it was around 16 -20 months of appeal and then RAMP process and denial. The denial came back September of this year or so. Since then I had claim that took a total of 4 months and was awarded and my rating is now 70. I plan on submitting my new evidence as I had my doctor complete a DMQ that pretty much checks off all of the boxes from what the BBE was stating that I lacked and now I have that. I was told ( even though we are told several different things) that they would go back to when i first appealed/or filed for increase on the items. Even though my rating is 70, they would go back to what the rating was back then. So based off the replies, do I just appeal with my new evidence? Do i need to submit additional docs ? I don't even know the term EED?

May I ask did you have to pay a lot for this Nexus letter? I haven't heard/ knew anything about this letter until seeing people mention that here. I will mention this to my neurologist to see how he can piece this together. Sleep Apnea is a real $%^&* and what really upsets me and I am sure others is that i had this while in and was too much in a rush to get out that I wrote off poor sleep habits however now I am going to have to figure out a way to get compensated for this. I will work with Neuro to see if they can write up a letter as well as state that this is somehow in their opinion related to PTSD etc.

I have a question on a rating question and how it would work backpay wise if you are awarded for a long overdue SC disability. I have 2 disabilities that are considered service connected however 1 is rated at 0 and the other I am trying to obtain an increase on. At the time of appeal I was at 40 percent total rating. I am now at 70 percent however I plan on appealing the 2 again and this time I have several medical records including completed DMQs from the doctor and I pretty much followed what the BME was telling me. I was lacking enough information in order to get awarded so I made sure to do that that all said. Now as I plan on appealing and the total time is around 2 years or 2.5 years how will this all work? Basically IF they decided to finally rate me for the 2 or increase both disabilities would this go back to when I originally appealed? before I appealed? what rating will they look at? I am 70 now but was only rated 40 when it started (actually 20) but yea that is where i am confused. I heard they would treat this as the rating i had when i started this appeal and they would backpay from the 2 years or however many years. I just wanted to know if anyone else has been in this situation. Thank you all !

Yea I feel you. You could get 100 percent disability and that wouldn't cover your cost for rent in this area. But back to the rates and nexus letter stuff. I figured you have them fill out a DMQ and then have them write a short statement to back up what you need to show the VA? I mean how would that cost 1500? Unless we are asking to write a thesis on your condition.

You will receive the big brown envelope soon I would imagine and that will answer everything that you Ebenefits didn't. Yours is now marked closed. Mine is still open why it reviews one of the 4 claim items, however they were nice enough to rate the ones they could and award something now as they work on the last item. I called 800 peggy and ofcourse the packet is being mailed today and no news on when to expect direct deposit. Could be worse.

My claim was partially resolved today as well. They had it pending notification. I saw the increase and items listed but one says defer and status back to gathering evidence. I called VA they said the others are settled and there’s a rate increase one though is still be reviewed. It’s weird. But 800 couldn’t give more details so my question is when will I see the backpay again no answer. Best bet is calling your service rep and seeing what they know. Congrats on the increase. Just sounds like you’re waiting on final docs but you see the increase rating.

Did you file sleep apnea as a secondary to ptsd? I too just got denied sleep apnea. I was not sure what the next step is.

My claim was just closed and out of the 4 items listed, they SC PTSD, deffered Stomach issues, denied Sleep Apnea and Tinnitus. I am not sure what the defer is for the stomach issues. It went from pending notification to updating my rating but now it says gathering of evidence so maybe they are still working the stomach issues? I plan on appealing the sleep apnea. I had a test done and had letters from roommates, ex wife etc and stated the time frames but no go as they listed not service connected. Should I go back to my sleep doctor and ask they list PTSD as a probable factor due to sleep habits? Meaning this would be secondary ? Should I hire a lawyer ? I read so many here getting denied and it seems rare to find a success story of someone that was granted SA that was already out of service. I am looking forward to the BBE to see what details they leave.

Here is the rough timeline: C&P Exams- Nov 20th Moved from Gathering of evidence 2 weeks later to Prep for Decision A week later it moved to Pending approval decision Today it went to Prep for notification This was basically a month from when i took the C&P Exams. Question is, when will Ebenefits have the updated disability ratings if any? As of now the claim is showing the 4 items and its not closed. Do they not update the information until after it says closed? I even looked at the VA docs where it list your disability rating as these sometimes update early and nothing, it still has the same information. Lastly, IF they did award any of the claims and the backpay is not correct, do I need to call my REP or VA 800 # Peggy and would this result in a whole new claim to obtain the BP? I am thinking way ahead here but as you all know, there is a reason for this. I like to have my ducks in a row. Last time it went its way and I didn't check Ebenefits as i figured it would take several months. I only saw the approval award because of the deposit. This time I have been tracking and its been nothing short of stomach aches.

Did you end up tying the sleep apnea as secondary to PTSD? I have a sleep apnea claim in but i am sure it will be denied. I had a study, issued a cpap, have statements from my mom, exwife, roommate etc but they will probably say its not service connected etc. So I was hearing that you could possible connect to PTSD if you already have that rated etc. Just seeing what your outcome was?

I am having my neurologist fill out the DMQ and from what I heard, if you have a DMQ filled out and submitted with your claim then the VA may not need a C&P and they would simply use the DMQ that you provided. As we all know, the VA is not always accurate with their processes so you might have a smooth process or they may say you need a C&P. My best guess is if you submitted DMQs and they are not setting you up with C&Ps for the ones you provided DMQs for then the DMQs will suffice. Be aware that not all questions are answered on a DMQ. It is nice to have other statements from the doctor to attach to the files such as this is in my opinion SC related or more likely than not etc. I am going through a Sleep Apnea claim and already preparing for a denial and appeal so i am having my DMQ completed and written statements from people I know and doctors relating it to PTSD secondary and the fact that the CPAP BIPAP machine is necessary required treatment.

I will keep a diary and plus I left the form with my neurologist who filled this out and even stated it impacts job as I will sometimes have to leave work early and plus they prescribed medication. I will wait another month in order to have some sort of diary to provide but I think a professional neurologist should suffice. If they ask me to take a c&p I will make sure to ask for that persons credentials.

You will probably be getting a call to set up exams by Jan 4th. It seems like a month from when you submit a claim to getting a call from LHI or whomever to get an exam set up. I wonder if you submit a DMQ from your doctor if they ever just take this and not full around with a C&P. And from what i see personally, after the C&P was done, it would update to pending decision and usually obtain an rating/decision within a week.

I am not sure if every examiner goes by the same set of what to ask but my examiner was very patient and asked a lot and I am waiting on my decision as well. I am not sure if they will rate 30 or 50 or whatever. I saw you mentioned memory loss and for me its memory loss on things like directions, getting lost or even getting side tracked and going one direction and then next thing I know, I am in the wrong direction etc. its not major but its little things that have annoyed others including myself. Not sure how they rate anxiety like if you cant take public transportation. Thing is, the work thing is ok with me, its the social life that has taken a hit and not sure if you need both to be at 50 or above. Either way, its hard to determine based off what i read from others and i also think the examiner is huge. If they just blow by and not capture the details like are you ever triggered, how? Then the examine might lack the whole story. I wrote down several examples, had several bullet points, listed out details to insure I did not forget something because I wanted to make sure the exam captured everything.

I think its pretty awful if you go for a PTSD exam and they treated you bad. To be honest, I would go straight pissed off mode if I had a experience like that during my PTSD. Its bad enough when some people wait years to even go to and do this and I found it very unpleasant telling some stranger and bringing up moments that I haven't even told my mother/family yet tell another person.. PTSD exam was the worst to go over and its something I will never do again and I told that lady that this is a one time deal, i laid it all out, had a good cry, felt pissed off and that was that. I am thankful that the lady that did my exam was very compassionate and had me stop at points as she had enough for her report. I also don't see how it just gets better after 5 years. I think PTSD is something you live with forever, at least that is how i think about that.

I am waiting on my claim for sleep apnea as well. I had a test done and my rate was 97 times per hour i stop breathing. Its so bad they put me on a B PAP. Also, my sleep doctor/neurologist listed nightmare/ptsd in the notes so i am not sure how they will end up rating this. I have letters too from family, roommates, ex wife on my sleep habits. I am banking on them declining it as it seems to be the norm and i wish i knew what sleep apnea was because before i got out, i would have tested then. I had no clue and just wrote off the snoring etc as just a snore type. I am reading that several people are claiming sleep apnea as secondary. So does this mean if they deny claim, i try to go the route of saying sleep apnea due to PTSD? I took the test, i even complained of headaches before getting out which can be a result of poor sleep and i am in the middle of migraines claim where i had my neurologist fill out a DMQ and listed PTSD and anxiety as well as marked all the boxes to have migraines rated. On meds too. Ive been fighting the denial for my headaches since i got out in 2005. I have read the denial information on the BBE and just simply see why they denied it, then i go back to the doctor and have them state or use the verbiage that the VA is asking for. Its not a lie but its just how it is. You would think most of this is common sense but they need to see buzz words or see that you are being subscribed something in order to rate you.

I reviewed the checked boxes : checked other as in averaging more than once a month - wrote in 4 days a week. Does this affect work- Checked yes, and wrote in that patient leaves work on average early 1 day per week. I do not suffer bad enough to where i can not go to work therefore there is no severe economic etc.. but who knows how they will rate this. Doc has prescribed medication, checked of prostrating attacks greater than what the 30 percent list and does affect job to a point where i have left or needed to take a timeout as my head was banging. As for diary. would i need to just do this for the next several months delaying a claim appeal ?? I can do it for a month but i would rather not wait a very long time unless it was deemed necessary. i wish i knew this as i would have kept one for sure. I just don't want to submit this DMQ and get denied because i was not keeping a diary of my headaches.

I went to a Neurologist last week and explained that i suffer from headaches leading back to when I was in the military and listed this as a issue when I was exiting. I got a zero percent and started appealing this decision. I printed out a DMQ and had this doctor fill it out. He listed tension headaches and rebound headaches due to the fact i take certain over the counter meds like advil etc. He listed that he has prescribed me with a medication to treat this. I also saw where is listed that i get them more than 2 xtimes, on the sheet it was listed as the most severe as in i get them weekly. Prostrating was checked off on several boxes. When I look up the rating it says very frequent, completely prostrating, prolonged, productive of sever economic inadaptability. Listed that i may go home early on average once day a week. I may not leave, i might just have to sit in my office and close my eyes or take advil as its bad but its not like i have to leave every week. My question is, i would not think i would qualify for the 50 percent range as I can work and i do not want to stop working but what if the VA did do 50 percent? Would this be an automatic TDIU? or would it more likely be rated at the 30 percentage? I am hoping the meds they prescribed help as these tension like buildups are awful. Also, do i need to submit additional information or would this DMQ from my neuro work?

I have denied a claim for increase on headaches and feet. After reading the BBE I see that they are asking for specifics so for headaches it pretty much asks how bad are they, are you on meds. After meeting with a neurologist and they can see that I have had scans done (This is very nice BTW) and obtain copies but anyways he prescribed a medication and said that it sounds like the majority of my headaches are classified as tension headaches. I printed out a DMQ as I have read a little on this and it basically says you should let your doctor complete as this is the same questions the VA ask during a CandP. Questions are, is this correct? Is this a beneficial deal for us to start having our docs do this? I plan on doing the same with my feet as i was denied because i was not subscribed freaking inserts. The doc said you can buy these etc etc but VA wants the verbiage that soldier was required to be fitted with said items. After a 2 plus year shenanigans, I am trying to nip this in the bud and get my claim approved. BTW when the neuro doc saw the forms he was like OMG I hate these but he said he would fill out and was very cool after the a few min.. Thanks all

No worries at all. I appreciate everyone taking the time to add input. I know the first C&P exams were done by a contractor company called LHI I believe that was the name. Anyways I did not ask for the results as I just figured it would take several months and one day i noticed a large deposit and sure enough they approved my one claim. That is the only reason I checked and looked at eben online. It was maybe 3-4 weeks max from the time I took my exams to obtaining results etc. Fast .. I am not holding my breath just because of one fast movement. I just hope they come up with what they come up with and if I am denied, I will read why and use that to obtain what is needed and of course consult with a lawyer to help as this can be time consuming and draining with just going back to the docs to get everything in line and then submitting and waiting again and i will say this, they will owe a nice chunk of back pay for a few denied claims/appeals if they ever get approved.

I was told they removed this option that you can not get a copy of your c and p exams off healthy vet. When i called the 800# they told me that they got exams in from the 2 other docs and waiting on the last one. That is how I know as they are the ones that told me. I have not contacted anyone else.

I am not sure if this is in response to me or someone else. Pretty new here. The examiner was on his computer and was asking me questions and typing in stuff. He would take my letters/doc notes/results and type in stuff but he didn't take copies. I uploaded this all on my ebens anyways and he said he would send over my exam results electronic and acted as though that day. He has not as of yet and I was told that the VA did reach him and he was working several together and it should be sent shortly. That is all I know and they pretty much answered my question as they would like to have the exams back within 2 weeks or they will start asking for this from the examiners. I was happy to know that they did reach out to the examiner. I did ask for a record of my c p exams and they said this was not available. Use to be but they were not helpful in me obtaining these.

Thank you for the responses and taking to time to help out. I appreciate it. This whole dealing with the VA has been a huge learning adventure for sure. Biggest thing I have learned is they do not work with common sense. You can not assume anything as they are not looking at your files/reports the same as we are. I have 30 percent for feet issues/plantar fasciitis that goes back to basic. I was told my arches caved in and it dragged on the concrete floor. After podiatrist apts, a surgery and thinking ok this is a easy claim, they denied a increase simply because I needed to show them that the podiatrist recommends or has prescribed inserts. Same deal with headaches/migraines. I have them, a lot. After reading the denial it says I need to have them often and pretty much be prescribed some sort of medication to control my headaches. Although it ticks me off that this all took 2 to 3 years from claim to appeal to deny, I at least read the denial reasoning and now I know that I need my podiatrist to specifically write out and prescribe inserts and that i have to wear certain foot wear that i can not stand etc for however much of time. I will get my other doctor to follow what the denial said that is needed for my headaches. Then send in a new claim with new medical records and hope it will suffice. I surely will not give up. As for the CP Exams at the VAMC i can call them i suppose. I was told by the VA 800# that they did recv the exam information back however they are waiting on the last 2 from the same doc and they reached out to that person and his assistant said he was working several at the same time so he would be sending it in shortly. We will see. I don't get the whole let things pile up and make us all wait a month but apparently that is how he works. I know from past cp exams, I would take the exams and within 2-3 weeks I saw the increase and close out so I am hopeful that once the exams are sent in, they will work it. I asked if they would just work what they had and give a decision on those but they said they will wait for the last pieces of the other issues.

I am not holding my breath on the sleep apnea either but i have heard that people have claimed sleep apnea as a secondary to their PTSD. I am going to work with lawyers too if they deny my sleep apnea. They cant deny that you don't have it if you take a sleep study and your study shows that you have it etc. There seems to be a few very popular lawyers online (cant recall the name) but I hope either way they work this out and you guys get what you deserve. I wish I knew more about sleep apnea while I was in. The ever changing sleep patterns due to weird shifts and travel etc has huge impacts on your sleep and you just write it off thinking you are tired etc. Then you find out from others that you gasp in your sleep and you have this apnea and its a huge headache proving but hopefully the lawyers will do a lot of the leg work after you supply buddy statements, test, past history etc. Wish you all well.

Hello to all, I had my C&P Examiners (4 exams and 3 doctors) for my 2 exams from 2 different doctors, they apparently sent in the exams and the VA has this. GREAT! but for the 2 other exams from the 1 Doctor did not send in anything as of 29nov. I had my exams on 20NOV at a VA Medical facility and the examiner said ok, I will make sure to send everything and said its all electronic. I know holidays was coming in 2 days but still, the others sent their reports in. He did not. I had a sleep apnea and IBS issues. I made sure to bring copies of the sleep study and he found the information he needed off for his report however he did not keep anything. I made sure to upload them all to Ebenefits regardless so they have this. My question is do the examiners from your C&P exams have a deadline to send this in? This guy came off a real class a ******* but to each their own. I just expect him to take my report, type his report and submit. My one buddy who went 2 months ago had his c&p exams and within 3 weeks to maybe a month later his was resolved increased rating etc. Anyone have similar issues please let me know.