kegs

Hi everyone. Thanks for all the information. I received a determination, finally. The VA did lump my spine issues into one. 20% for lumbosacral strain, degenerative arthritis, spinal stenosis, and vertebrae fracture. 10% for radiculopathy, left lower extremity and 10% for radiculopathy, right lower extremity. I have some other rated disabilities for a combined 60%. I am working on an appeal. I will claim my spine issues be rated individually. Is that reasonable? I think I will also claim my cervical spine be rated as secondary to my lumber spine. My cervical ROM is less. Also, the cervical has degenerative disease, narrowing of disc space, degenerative changes. In addition to my spine malfunctions, I plan to appeal my shortness of breath. As secondary, I will request sleep apnea. I use a CPAP nightly as prescribed by the VA. I also use oxygen nightly. What insights do you folks have, along with your suggestions and recommendations? Also, is sciatica the same as radiculopathy? The VA has used the term sciatica all along and that is what I claimed. Thanks.

Hi. I need some guidance. I currently am 40% VA disabled, including 10% for lumbosacral strain. I submitted A claim 23MAR2018 under the Gulf War and the VA denied most of my claims, but deferred a few. I am waiting on the deferred items, the lumbosacral strain, the vertebrae fractures caused by osteopenia, and sciatica. I had a MRI on my back in FEB 2018 and the following are basically the results. L1 - moderate fracture. L2 - mild to moderate fracture. L3 - moderate to severe fracture. T11 - mild fracture. L3 - moderate stenosis. L2 - mild stenosis. Multilevel degenerative changes. Multilevel disc bulges. Disc herniations. L3-L4 - severe bilateral neuroforaminal narrowing. I have submitted test results, reports, documents from various medical facilities, Dr. evaluations, diagnosis stuff and my own things. I do not think there are codes for everything. I have some questions. What else can I get and submit in support of my claim? Will the VA rater connect all the dots/information? Should I submit a new claim and claim each condition separately? What about pyramiding? My Dr. stated that I have occasional sciatica. I have read some posts, but I am really in the dark on this. Please steer me in the right direction. Thanks.

Hi. I have a couple questions and welcome all recommendations for my disability claim. I am currently 10% disabled for lumbosacral strain and deferred decision for this and vertebrae fractures caused by osteopenia. I had a MRI February 2018 and results include moderate compression fracture of L1, mild to moderate compression fracture of L2, moderate to severe compression fracture of L3, mild compression fracture of T11. Additionally, L3 moderate spinal canal stenosis, L2 mild to moderate retropulsion with mild spinal canal stenosis, multilevel degenerative changes, multilevel disc bulges, disc herniations, L1-L2 mild broad-based disc bulge with mild spinal canal stenosis, L2-L3 mild broad based disc bulge with mild to moderate spinal canal stenosis, L3-L4 mild to moderate broad based disc bulge and severe bilateral neuroforaminal narrowing. I have read that these malfunctions should have been claimed individually. Will the VA evaluate/rate each condition separately? If not, I may have to appeal or submit a new claim. What are some thoughts and suggestions. Do these disabilities belong in the lumbosacral strain or the vertebrae fractures caused by osteopenia. I am totally in the dark on this stuff. I am pretty sure no diagnosis codes have been assigned. What can I do to support my claim? HELP!!!!!