Kuwaitin08

The best bet is to have your physician/psychologist/psychiatrist, fill out the VA DBQ form. That way you can’t go wrong.

The best answer I can give you is it is not important for rating purposes. All of the mental health disorders despite their own diagnosis fall under mental health. As long as you have a MH diagnosis and have had and is currently seeking treatment, you should have a chance. If you have generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD and depression you will only get one rating. You will not get a reading for each. Each diagnosis will be rated on its severity and that is it. The DBQ you’d probably want is 21-0960p-2

I am just speaking from my experience, I would use whatever diagnosis your physician or therapist or counselor gives you. For me I was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder. Upon completing the C&P exam, the VA diagnosed me with PTSD instead of GAD. For PTSD you have to meet very specific criteria. If you do not meet the criteria for PTSD and that is what you are going for then you will be denied. It is much easier to be diagnosed with general anxiety disorder. There are not as many criteria to worry about with that one. Based on my experience...

I hope so too! My original migraine claim was denied but it was the one thing that I had the most evidence and treatment of. It is the thing that affects me most. Almost one a day and prostrating migraines 3-4 times a month and progressively becoming more frequent. Thanks again for the feedback.

I contacted the VA today and received some information. Apparently they are revisiting the migraines and my Gerd. Apparently both have been sent to an independent physician for review because of their failure of duty to assist. I’m not sure if that is good or bad but I guess we will soon see. Thank you for all of the replies. I’ll definitely keep all of you informed on what happens.

When I had a discrepancy on my C&P exam, I added a statement of disagreement to my file showing the contradictory statements. I then called the VA facility that did my assessment and asked for the director of the department that was responsible for my exam. Of course he wasn’t there but I left a message. I got a call back a few days later and explained my concern. He spoke to the examiner and then called me back saying the issue was resolved (explaining what was done). I actually received a positive outcome. I suggest you do the same. Good luck!

Lord only knows how long it will take from this point.

July 26 is when it was submitted and got an update Sept 3.

Here is my VA.gov status... See attachments.

I hope so. I called the 1-800 and got the generic answer... They are working you’re claim and will mail a decision. They said they had no other information besides what was on VA.gov.

I never submitted additional evidence at all. That’s why am confused. I’m just wondering if the first rater messed something up or overlooked it.

I’ve read the CFR, I’ve just never actually heard of the VA admitting to an error on their end. The letter doesn’t say a thing about what they failed to assist with. I will post a picture of the letter later today or tomorrow.

I just received a letter regarding a higher level review that says the VA has found an error in their duty to assist. Has anyone else ever receive that letter? If so, how’d yours turn out? I have received many letters from the VA but nothing like that one. Still waiting patiently…

The higher level review is a good way to go if and I do mean if your evidence is clear. And when I say your evidence is clear I mean that it falls in line with the regulations the VA uses. The evidence must be thoroughly abundant and unbelievably clear. It often has a very high denial rate because while a veteran may have great evidence, it is not in line exactly with what the VA would need to make a decision. Use this only when it is clear that the initial reviewer had overlooked something.

Hmm. I haven’t had a thing show up or change.

No. I have received no information at all. A while back my status was changed to decision letter sent. When I didn’t receive it after two weeks I called and they said that no letter was ever sent. I have received no information at all. Every time I call the veterans benefits administration I get the runaround and each time I’m told something different. I still check Ebenefits and VA.gov every day though just to make myself nuts. Did you say you already received back pay?

Ditto!

I’m in the exact same boat as you. My messages are identical with the exception of dates which are only a few days off. Keep an eye on Ebenefits as it updates pretty quickly (at least in my dealings). Either check out the disabilities or use the letter generator. Good luck!

Would it be better to restart a disability claim instead of going through the appeal process if I am still within the initial year of my intent to file? I understand that if I am past that year then I will lose that year potential backpay so I am just looking for feedback.

OK, back on September 3 I received a notice that said my Higher Level Review was closed and to expect a letter regarding the decision. After about a week having not received the letter I contacted the 800 number and they said it should be there any day. Today is September 18 and I looked on the VA website for the phone number again and I saw my status was changed from closed to the VA is correcting an error. Does anyone have any clue what that means or if that is a good or a bad thing? I’m just looking for opinions or the off chance that someone else has experienced this.

My higher level review was dated July 23, 2019

Please let us know your result and how long it took to get into Ebenefits.

I have the same issue. My initial response for my disability decision showed up in Ebenefits the next day after it closed. It has been a week and half after HLR closed and nothing is showing in Ebenefits.

I submitted a Higher Level Review for a few issues I had. VA.gov says my HLR is closed and a decision has been sent. There is no updated information in Ebenefits. Is this normal? I only ask because when my first disability was completed, documents showed up on Ebenefits the next day.