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USAF K9

Seaman
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About USAF K9

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  1. I do. Thanks for checking. They did it automatically. I am not as worried about losing the money from SMC-S as I would be that it implies that they are hacking away at my ratings that provide my buffer above the 100%. For me, the further I am past the 100%, the more stable things feel. I had to medically retire because of this stuff, so I now have to depend on the VA. So, I get antsy about this stuff. Thanks for your reply!
  2. I definitely will. Thanks. I know, they can do 100 things wrong and nothing happens. But, as soon as we do one thing wrong (like not show up to an appointment), we get bumped down to zero.
  3. Thanks for the reply. I am definitely P&T. I have the letter showing P&T, and my family is on CHAMP VA. To your second point, you are absolutely right. They could completely remove all my back and radiculopothy stuff and I would still be 100% for MH stuff and be like 80% for all my other stuff. It is just that I have been done so dirty by the VA in the past that I worry about getting hosed again. My defense mechanism is to go so far beyond 100% that I feel comfortable that my rating is safe. So, I worry about the VA causing a chink in my armor by removing a 40% and two 20%s. If I am being honest, I also think my anxiety escalates when I think "what is the point of having P&T if they still send me to exams that could only serve to reduce me and not increase my rating?"
  4. I appreciate it. I did not know I could do that. I will wait until I get a little closer to the appointment and do that. I noticed that the re-eval was scheduled back before I was awarded P&T. So part of me is holding out hope that the re-eval notice is just still lingering in the system, and that a human being will see it closer to the exam and just squash it. I know, probably unlikely.
  5. I was awarded 100% PT for several issues about a year ago. My code sheet (from my FOIA request and confirmed verbally by my VSO, and then by a VA phone rep) indicates that everything rating is 'static' except for my back issue(40%) and radiculopothy for both legs (20% each). Those two items are listed with a re eval scheduled for about 8 mos from now. I am confused how I am P&T but still having to do a Re eval. To make things more confusing I am 100% static for mental health stuff. Even if the reduced my back I would still be 100% for MH stuff alone. Any thoughts?
  6. Thanks everyone for the replies! I appreciate the info. I spoke to my VSO who has seen my letter (I still haven't gotten it yet in the mail). She confirmed what I saw on ebenefits, so no worries about ebenefits being different from the letter. Anyway, she reviewed the fibro decision and she seems to think the same as me, that it is because I haven't had it diagnosed for 6 months. I'm still unsure if I will try for it. On one hand, I don't want to lose the automatic Gulf War service connection if VA doesn't extend it again. But, I also am P&T, so I have won the war so to speak. I also wanted to mention that the VSO said that she can see that my DDD/radiculopothy is scheduled for a re-eval some time down the road, but no other conditions are. I am curious, is there any chance the VA just cancels the back re-eval down the road when they see I am P&T? The rating letter from a few months ago said my back has a chance of improving (DDD--LOL), so I will be re-evaluated. But, that was before the P&T rating. Any thoughts, anyone? Thanks!
  7. Hi everyone, I am not sure if anyone is still watching this thread, but I wanted to post the decision now that I have it. I always want to see how things end up for people on here. They bumped me up to 100% for ptsd. With that 100, it bumps me up to SMC s for housebound or whatever it is (which someone on this thread mentioned as a possibility). Sleep Apnea 50% Migraines 0% Fibromyalgia denied - I assume because it has not been six months since my diagnosis. The c&p examiner was pretty awesome so I doubt if she screwed me. ED 0% The most important decision: They awarded P&T! I am so relieved. I was already 100% non P&T, and now I have so many high rated disabilities that even if they do decide to reevaluate me for something, I am not really in danger of going below 100, and extremely unlikely to go under 90%. Thanks everyone for your help!
  8. Yes, breathing is good. Can't forget to breath. I do tend to be very...uuuh...focused. It makes me very good at getting stuff done, but probably pretty hard to work with or for. Thanks!
  9. You mean to ask the status? I figured I would keep checking ebenefits every 17 or 18 seconds this weekend, and worry about it needlessly, then I figured I would call my VSO on Monday. My VARO is a nightmare drive through Houston.
  10. Ugh! My claims (including the VA's request for PTSD increase) have now gone to "Preparation for Notification," but I cannot see any updates in Ebenefits other than that status update. -I looked in my list-o-disabilities. No update, not even a "not SC" next to my recent claims. I'm sure that is a good thing. -I looked in the "Pending Disabilities" section. That still reads the same as it always did, as though the claims are still being worked. -I looked in the "letter generator," and it says the same stuff it has said since prior to these claims. I probably would not be whining about this, except that it is Friday afternoon at almost 6 PM, which means I am going to have to wonder all weekend what happened. I guess the good news is that there is no change either way, other than the status change. I guess I should just be happy that it doesn't show them as not SC'd. There is still hope. Anybody, got any other tricks up their sleeve to try to find out the results after decision but before the envelope?
  11. GeekySquid, I really appreciate the feedback. That is reassuring to hear. You know, I was heavily involved in filing claims up until about 2009, and then I just quit once I hit 60%. Anyway, I was pretty much disgusted with the VA back then. Well, after my 10 year hiatus, I have to say some things have really changed. I am certainly not saying VA is perfect or even good, but they are light years beyond where they were when I stopped messing with claims 10 years ago. Maybe I should give them more benefit of the doubt since they have made some improvements. Thanks again.
  12. Thanks, Shrek for the response. I did provide a letter from a doctor saying my issues are not expected to get better. I can see the VA saying, since the bulk of my 100% rating is PTSD, maybe the physician isnt reliable to say the PTSD is not going to get better. It just threw me off when there was no request from the VA to the psych C&P examiner for any kind of opinion on how permanent the PTSD is. At least the VA operator reading the request over the phone said there wasn't. It is good to hear that a super quick re eval is not unheard of. I thought it was a clear sign the VA rater was trying to bump me down. I am definitely fighting for those other conditions as well. I am hoping that, if some or all of them get approved, the VA will see that, even if a bunch of stuff gets reduced, I will still be at 100%. Maybe a fool's hope...
  13. I'm sorry if I am posting in the wrong place. I wasn't sure where this should go. I am prior Air Force, combat action medal from Iraq, blah, blah. Lots of issues from Iraq and base football, and other stuff. I am 100% SC schedular, non P&T. I am 70% PTSD, 40% back, 20% for each leg bilateral radiculopathy, and a bunch of 10% ratings on my feet, knees, hands, etc. I went to my first and only C&P for PTSD back in March 2019, so I have only been SC for PTSD for 4 months or so. I recently filed claims for several other conditions (Sleep Apnea secondary to wt gain from PTSD and other disabilities, Fibromyalgia for Gulf War, Migraines from Gulf War, ED secondary to PTSD meds). I also provided a letter from a doctor saying I should be P&T. I would have left well enough alone after getting 100%, but the rating said I would be re-evaluated for my PTSD and my back, so I figured I may as well go for the jugular and overwhelm them with the rest of my issues, so maybe they give me P&T. I also THOUGHT I was safe from a re-eval since I had been rated so recently. Anyway, despite me providing them records to fulfill all the necessary elements (favorable DBQs and nexus letters from Dr. Ellis, and diagnoses/sleep studies, etc. from my personal doctor) for all the new claims, they still sent me to a C&P for all the newly claimed conditions. Fine, I will play the game even though I sent you everything wrapped in a nice bow. But, then comes the part that threw me for a loop, and is my actual question: I looked in ebenefits and see a request for a PTSD increase showing in the system, which I absolutely never asked for. I didn't even think I could go for an increase since I had only been rated like 4 months ago at that time. I also didn't think I rated 100%, based on the description in the CFR. Anyway, I call a bunch of people to ask what is going on and nobody has an answer. The VA acknowledged that they asked for the re-evaluation. I understand the VA can and will re-evaluate anytime, but it is a bit ridiculous, even for the VA, to do another PTSD exam 4 months after the first one. I would certainly understand if they re-evaluated my physical issues since I was seeing a primary care type C&P examiner for my new claims. But, it doesn't make sense to generate a request to have PTSD added to the mix after only 4 months. Does anybody have any thoughts? Some have told me that this may be part of their process to determine if I should get P&T, but I had a VA phone rep read me the correspondence between the VA and the Psych, and nothing was mentioned about "find out if this dude is going to be messed up for the rest of his life," and I know the C&P psych certainly didn't ask any questions about permanency, and she actually seemed mildly annoyed that they sent me again so soon, especially when I told her I never requested an increase. BTW, the C&P seemed to go really well, so I am not super stressed about the outcome, but you never know. Actually, scratch that. I am pretty much constantly anxious about everything. But, the exam did seem to go well. Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts about why they sent me for another C&P exam for PTSD so soon, I am all ears. Thanks everyone! P.S. This forum has been EXTREMELY helpful to me as I took myself from 20% up to 100% (and maybe back down again depending on what the VA says about my PTSD C&P exam). So, I thank you all for that.
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