GBArmy

Becky If you have been taking high blood pressure meds prescribed by the VA, then they had to have made a diagnosis and should be in your file. Look up diagnostic code 7101 for it and it tells you the amount of the disability based on the severity of your condition. The key is if you now take meds and it is now under control, unless you have adequate b p readings in your file, they could have you do a C&P and your readings will show much lower (because you are taking the meds, duh!) So see what you have for vitals in your str's. By the way, even if you get a 0%, that will give you coverage if you have other problems later, such as a stroke.

You will, do fine. Relax as much as you can, be honest, be polite, but most important, believe in yourself. A lot of people are pulling for you!

See, I told you to be nice. It always is better than not (at least during a VA exam!)

Mark: Berta is correct; if your ship is listed, your diabetes will be presumptive. If not on the list, I don't know why they are giving it to you unless you can show you went ashore. See what they respond with for a reason why the granted it.What you should do is review everything else you have wrong with you and see if they may be symptoms of OTHER secondary presumptives from AO. For example pain in your legs or feet could be neurophathy, eye/vision problems from High Blood Pressure. Look up the AO presumptives in VA.gov; there are a dozen or so and in addition, hopefully more that Congress is reviewing. If you have anything on the list, claim it also.

The standard answer is they certainly can and probably will. Your last exam was 3 years ago. I would be surprised if you don't. With a favorable dbq it is most likely you won't be decreased and it could go the other way. Be positive and above all, be sure to go to the scheduled exam. Don't put any faith in the status on ebenifits; it moves all over the place.

Good luck tomorrow. Ask the vendor if they have read your report from Mass Eye and Ear; bring a copy with you just in case. Be polite; you have an ace because of the other report so it should result well for you. Let us know how you make out. I had an outside contractor do mine and I did my best to be pleasant and not confrontational (always during a C&P). She gave me a good rating. Sometimes, it is just the luck of the draw. By the way, I assume you have also been evaluated before concerning tinnitus. If so and you do get a disability for it, don't bring it up yourself. It is a separate disability and you aren't there for re-eval for that. If they ask about it, just try to remind them you still have it, BUT you aren't there for that.

Just another example of taking the initiative and advocating for yourself. No one can do it better than yourself. Congrats!

Easiest thing to do is what Bronco stated; just go back and get the copies from the doctor's office that documents/supports your items that are lost. Surely that info will be on file and easily obtainable.Rebuild it from that.

Hi Mark, welcome aboard. I am guessing that your Blue Water service was on a ship that was considered in territorial waters of Nam. Dis you look up to see if your ship is on the list?

You should have an acknowledgment on your fax copy that it went. How about sending a copy registered mail, return receipt tomorrow also.

Filing for one disability will not disqualify you from filing for any other disability in the future. You can file as many times as you want. There is no reason why you don't file for both at the same time, if you have the symptoms for both and have a medical opinion on them. Use vague terms like "claim is for unexplained illness from my service in A, to include , but not limited limited to,Epstein-Barr Virus and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome." Definately get an independant medical opinion confirming your symptoms.

So on the scars, if you an get an independent medical opinion that confirms what you think your condition is, say minimum square inches for example, then submit it with the dbq for scars. The higher in the medical profession you go, the better it is, so it would be best to get a doctor to fill it out. But, since you are already s-c for scars, I would be willing to be just a nurse or APRN would work. If not, do it again later by a doctor. just google dbq scars for the form. As for the other knee AND OTHER's, like hips, ankles, feet, etc. if they are messed up, you want to get rated for them as well as secondary to the original knee. It isn't unusual for a s-c knee ends up messing up other joints.

You call the White House and tell them you have tried 2 FIOA attempts and no response. If you have the dates you did them, all the better. Guaranteed they will respond as soon as they are called out on it. FIOA's are not to be taken lightly; they have to respond. They won't like it at the White House because the VA is actually breaking the law.

GeekySquid If they won't answer several attempts on the FOIA, why not call the White House number. I think they will respond then.

Short Answer: YES. If you think you aren't receiving what you should for a rating, you definately should appeal. So what if it takes months or even years. The time goes by whether you submit or don't doesn't it? So yes, appeal. You need to get a IMO from a doctor to say how much these disabilities now effect your life. Go to findmydisabilitymadeeasy.com, look up your disabilities and compare your conditions to the different rating levels. If you deserve a higher rating, then you need to challenge. Get a IMO letter from a doctor that supports your condition. You can do this. As for the scarring, you are half way there if they granted s-c, even if it is 0%. Again, go to http://www.militarydisabilitymadeeasy.com/scars Scars are a little harder to evaluate; sometimes the evaluator misses a scar, or forgets to add them together, etc.: it really can be questionable. Also, do they cause you discomfort, never really heal up, etc.? If you got a doctor to document that they meet the criteria for a 10%, you can use that. See https://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/dbq_ListByDBQFormName.asp to get a DBQ for the doctor to use. Go for it!

Hey Geekysquid: First thing that jumps out is you have a CUE situation, where you have the documentation in your file and they completely ignore it. Ms Berta and some of the elders can address this a a lot better than I can, but if you CUE it, my understanding is the VA can see how much it is screwed up and just might clean up several of these loose ends quickly. Then you can go after some of the others. I don't know either if you can have an open CUE and also have other NOD's working at the same time. And, you also have to make sure you don't loose track of how much time you have left to disagree. A lot of balls to juggle at the same time. Good luck brother.

Great news, Jimmer! And thanks for sharing; everyone likes encouragement and this is what someone said to me a long time ago..."you, a veteran, are to best advocate that anyone could ask for. Nobody has a greater interest in getting the best outcome. So do a good job in putting your case together." This is a great example of exactly just that. Again, great job!

The property tax exemptions for veterans are really all over the place; most veterans know they can get a tax deduction if they file a copy of their dd214. But many don't realize not only you get that, but very often, there are additional tax deductions if you have ANY VA disability and it can vary form one town or county to the next. In Connecticut, you get additional tax relief if your disability is 10 to 25%, then 25- 50%, etc. If you get a change, either up or down, you need to bring a copy down to the tax office. Also, you should find out if once you file, are you all set, or do you need to re-file every year.

Wondering is you are a Vietnam Veteran; there are some new presumptive diseases for Agent Orange that are being worked on by the VA and they are supposed to release those at the end of July. But that doesn't mean that they are going to start rating those conditions in July. We are talking about the VA here. Most of this info was handed over to them based on recommendations in 2010. Its over 8 years and still is not final. No one can possibly predict when the VA is going to do anything; especially if it is going to benefit veterans. I know they also are trying to get their arms around the Gulf War Burn Pit diseases; the VA is awarding disabilities based just on symptoms, but I haven't heard anything public about them defining some of those causes/diseases.

Navy Vets Wife There is a saying that we veterans have; we get on this hampster wheel called VA Disability claim, and we just spin our wheels. The VA delays, and denies, remands, using every little trick in their bag to frustrate and make the veteran throw in the towel. They do Not have the best interests of the veterans in mind. Quite the contrary, the more they can deny or at least low-ball on earned benefits, the better their own personal records for evaluation. They have metrics on how many claims they process, so volume on cases handled are important. It is a lot faster to deny that to justify approvals. You have to convince your husband that he has to hang in there and keep fighting. That saying we have is "you can't let the b.....ds win." You and he can win your claim if you keep on trying. Please keep on trying.

Assuming you already have a service - connected disability by the VA, sure you can get additional compensation.If you have a s-c for the bad knees, then yes you may be able to receive a disability secondary to it for other parts, such as feet, ankles, hips, etc. But, you first have to have the disability, and then you need a nexus letter written by a (orthopedic) doctor that can make it understandable why the secondary has been affected by the original knee disability. Look up the disability at http://www.militarydisabilitymadeeasy.com/vadisabilityrating.html for the diagnostic code. Once you zero in on your disability, you can then determine if your symptoms will be compensated for. The challenge will be getting a nexus that works.

Yes, file. ASAP. It's going to take a lot of work gathering evidence, going to exams, etc., etc. And it is going to be frustrating, but get it started now. If you don't have enough on your issue(s) and it gets denied, you still have a whole year to get what you need.

This is the way I see it. Maybe, just maybe, you are trying to compare your old vso with this new guy. You trusted the older guy and he worked great with you over the long haul. Now he retires and, well, you know, the newbie just isn't quite right. But, here is the point, first impressions are important; you can only do it once. For whatever reason, you just aren't clicking with this new guy. No worries; just go into ebenies and remove his name. Tell him you just don't need his services now and thank him. In the future, if you have need for a new vso, get one you can work with. Like is too short; if you aren't comfortable, you don't have to put up with it. Trust your instincts.

Well, for starters, I would say that if it does say that his dependents now have educational benefits, he does have a 100% combined rating. And as a general rule, delays in any financial benefits should be expected. I know, often at least some of the back pay/disability pay gets into the bank account, but not always. I think I would wait a little before you start chasing it down because the VA is "confused", which means they are depriving benefits as long as possible.

Shrek is spot on; submit all of the disability claim you are entitled to. I realize that you are new to Hadit, but this is a perfect example of what NOT to do. Just because you are rated 100% doesn't mean that the VA can't back door you and take some of your entitlements away. You probably were advised that once you get to 100, you are at the top of the VA mountain and can't go any higher. WRONG. Not only are there SMC's, special situations for additional monetary benefits, but you and your family will get DIC if you should pass from one of those "new" disabilities that you get. And get additional funeral benefits, etc. But the most important reason in my opinion is the "insurance" you get just in case the VA reduces your overall rating. This can be especially something that can happen to folks with TDIU; their 100% not P&T. Get those new claims going now!