Nekoiinu

I am not sure about the differences in this case between the ARMY and the NAVY. I was in the same boat. In my case because of he war they were backlogged. I did not get my re evaluation until almost 24 months. Just contact the people at the PEB or MEB offices. It should not be a big deal. I kind of drove them nuts but I checked in every 2 weeks. They would just tell me to check back or they would call. Finally I went there one day and they told me that 3 cases were had delivered to the proper places and one of mine was one of them. I got my appointment and was taken care of. So just keep staying on top of it. They cannot and will not cut off any benefits becasue it is their fault. You sound like I did as far as being kind of worried about it. I am still waiting on the results myself. Fortunately I had the same doctor on the same base do my re evaluation, so things went, or will go, in my favor I believe. I hope you have the same luck.

Good Job!!!

I know the road is tough, scary, and frustrating. Faith in God is base in everything. It hurts me every time someone who served gets bad treatment. You will be on my daily prayer list, and I am sorry that is all I can do. But please, have faith in God. He loves you and will do what is best. Sometimes we cannot see his grace and love until we are looking backwards, but it is there and will be there.

I myself also got 100% with proposed incompetency. I was told that I will have a competency C&P. Then from there they will make a decision. Then from there depending on the decision I would take action. It kind sounds like that happened to you. You must have disagreed with a decision. As far as the hearing is concerned, remember that the whole thing is not based on the money. You really just need to show that you can make good decisiones dispite your affliction. So, just because you stay in your house 23 of 24 hours a day does not mean that you dont know how to do things. You need to show that you still eat, bathe, pay bills, wear clean clothes, know what day of the week it is, what year it is, know that a gallon of milk does not cost $400...things like that. Your representative will know how to help you, but remember for yourself that your job in the proceeding will be to show them that although you present certain symptoms of an ailment that does not make you an idiot. Being afraid does not make you not able to make proper decisions. Also try to show them that you are capable of seeing bith sides. Example...Although I believe that it is not safe to go outside, I know there are things I must do. Although I struggle with leaving the house, with a set plan I can get my mail and buy food from the store. What you are doing is saying that there is a problem with leaving the house, but you can see through it all and take care of some things. Unless it is true that you cannot do anything, you dont want these people to think that you hide under the bed not eating, not paying bills, and not being able to make sure that you are safe. They take this seriously. I think you will be just fine if you take the time to present the things you can do, and the strategies that you have developed to make yourself somewhat able to live life somehow. I hope this helped.

I just thought that I would add a statement here. The main thing about preparing for your exam is being consistant with what is is in your records. Also being honest is a key factor. I have a degree in psycology, and can tell you that there are all kinds of trap doors in the psychological world. I am not trying to say in anyway that you would not be honest, the consistancy will ensure that you will get the best rating. If things look as though they are not fitting together, there are red flags that will go up, and may hold up your claim. They are already looking for reasons to not give you anything. It is true that it may be hard to say some things, but remember, they already read it in your file. And you are not going to say anything that will shock them. This is your time, your compensation, and your life. So tell the truth, be accurate, and be willing to share what is on your mind and share what has happened. You want the most favorable decision. I hope all goes well for you, because I know what it is like personally. There are a lot of people who know a lot here. They will be glad to help you.

Fro Tbird, the program looks right for you. I think that the price is pretty steep. It is kind of funny that the site knew I logged in from Mexico and put the prices in pesos. There are also programs that let you run windows on mac. It might be cheaper to get the program and do it that way instead of buying the pc, unless that is what you want to do. Depending on how old your mac is, you can install windows right away. The only downside from what I know is that it drags the system down. But if you are only going to make some tutorial videos, it should not be too much of a problem. Betrayed, most digital cameras record .avi and .mpg. Then all you have to do is take the file from the camera and throw it into vegas an d do what you need to do. Usually you would have to get an av in kind of device. I have one called a dazzle. And it is pretty cool. The only bad thing is, the thing I said earlier. The raw avi comes out to like 4G for 10 min of video. Then the rendering time is really bad. It almost wont do it. I have a pretty nice desktop back in the states, and even with that it was a no go. But with the digital camera .avi it is not a problem. Then again it starts to become a problem the longer that you want to make a video. When I used to do this in Barcelona, what I would do is break the video up into smaller parts, and process them that way. There may be better software out there but I have not found it. Primiere works ok, but you need a Ph.D in computeres to run it, then there are other dvd/video software, but they are not too intuitive. And if they are, they lack what is needed to produce a decent project. So all in all, Sony Vegas is the best thing to use. I hope that helped.

well, the funny thing about the bi polar is that the VA doctor pulled that out of his butt. There is nothing in my service records about bi polar, I was never treated for bi polar. My origianal diagnosis from my doctor is delusional disorder with paranoia. But in my C&P the doctor kept saying bi polar. I have prepared a letter for the VA. In it I state my bills, what they are, how much they are and that I pay them. The thing is that I am not incompetent. I can see how some other doctor picking up my file could maybe see that without talking to me. That is why I am trying to get a way for them to give me a meeting or hearing. I am quite sure that if they were to talk to me they would see things differently. I am even prepared for them to lower it. Another complication for me is that I live in Mexico with my girlfriend. I dont have a doctor here because I can barly afford to live. I get some money from the ARMY because I am on the TDRL. But when it is all said and done I have about $250 for everything after taxes and bills. It seems strange to me that they can say that I am incompetent after I can take abot $650 a month and take care of everything. I am a bit concerned because as you see there is no actual notification in the letter saying that I have 65 days to repsond. I am afraid of jumping the gun and maybe making things worse. I am trying to keep the stress down and under control so I do not make a hasty decision. Thanks a lot for all of the information so far. If there is more that people have to say please keep posting. This is not just form me, but for others looking for information. Especially new people coming into the system because of the war.I think that this may become more common with time.

Vegas is a good program. There are some thing to take into concideration. I am not trying to sound like a know it all, but I did not see much information here. The bad thing about vegas is that if you are trying to capture video it is a nightmare because the raw avi is so huge that when it comes time to render it into lets say, a compressed avi or divx you might not get it done. The best way to do it (not knowing your plans) is to use a device that can record into .avi or .mpg. That way the only rendering that needs to be done will be on the video itself and whatever effects or extras that you put in. I used to do video portfolios and dvds for models in Barcelona. So since you do so much here on the site, feel free to ask me anything. I would like to be able to offer any help or advice.

Well in my case, they got the claim 14 June 07 and I just got the decision on 4 Feb 08. They all take different amounts of time. Dependes on the amount of claims, severity, back load of work, and other factors involved. I hope it goes quickly for you.

Just remember that sometimes people hope that they can pass something by you and that you will not notice. If you take the appropriate steps in approaching the VA and show them that you have the facts, and can back them up they have no other choice. I can tell you this from experience. I am about to take my own advice here pretty soon, and I hope that you remember that if you show them that you have your stuff together, you can do nothing other than win. Dont overlook the possible need of outside help for this either. It is the wise man that knows when time to get help. Sorry for the way things are going. I know it seems bad, but keep on having hope. There is always a chance that things could be tter.

I put this in here to clear some questions and give more information. I am still not clear if they are still making a decision on incompetency, or have made the decision. Then someone who posted made me think about the permenant part of this. Below they said something about additional information for Veterans with sevice connected permenant and total disability.I am kind of afraid to jump the gun and fire off some letters. I guess I am just trying to play it cool. Thanks for the replies and support. Also the poster who asled about chapter 35, I dont know about that. You filed an original disability claim that was received on June 14, 2007. Based on a review of the evidence, we have made the following decision(s) on your claim. This letter tells you about your entitlement amount and payment start date and what we decided. It includes a copy of our rating decision that gives the evidence used and reasons for our decision. We have also included information about additional benefits, what to do if you disagree with our decision, and who to contact if you have questions or need assistance. What Is Your Entitlement Amount And Payment Start Date? Your monthly entitlement amount is shown below: Total Award Amount Amount Withheld Monthly Enti tlement Amount Payment Start Date Reason For Change $2,766.00 $2,766.00 $0.00 Aug 1,2007 Original Award, Withheld Due To Proposed Incom petency 2,829.00 2,829.00 0.00 Dec 1,2007 Cost of Living Adjustment, Withhold ing Due To Proposed Incompetency Continues When Can You Expect Payment? Your payment begins the first day of the month following your effective date. You will receive a payment covering the initial amount due under this award. minu s any withholdings, in approximately 15 days. Payment \"'i11 then be made at the beginning of each month for the prior month . For example. benefits due for May are paid on or about June I . Why Have We Withheld Benefits? We are withholding your award of service-connected disability benefits, due to the proposed finding of incompetency. What Did We Decide? 1 . Service connection for bipolar I disorder with psychosis consisting of paranoid delusion and both auditory and visual hallucinations, with sleep disturbances (claimed as psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, depressive disorder, and personality disorder) is granted with an evaluation of 100 percent effective July 23, 2007. 2 . Service connection for left arm radicuitis (claimed as left shoulder paresthesia) (nondominant) is granted with an evaluation of 20 perce nt effective July 23. 2007. 3 . Service connection for chronic lumbar strain with thoracic spondylosis is granted with an evaluation of 10 percent effec tive July 23, 2007. 4. Service connection for right shoulder sprain with osteoarthritic changes in the acromioclavicular joint (also claimed asarthralgia) (dominant) is granted with an evaluation of 10 percent effective July 23. 2007. 5. Service connection for left shoulder sprain with osteoarthritic changes in the acromioclavicular joint (also claimed as arthralgia) (non-dominant) is granted with an eva luation of 10 percent effective Ju ly 23, 2007. 6. Service connection for cervical sprain with degenerative disc disease is granted with an evaluation of20 percent effec tive July 23. 2007. 7 . Service connection for bi lateral tinnitus is granted with an evaluation o f 10 percent effective July 23. 2007. 8 . Serv ice connection for hypertension is granted with an eva luation of 0 percent effect ive July 23. 2007. 9 . Service connection for palpitation with chest pain is denied. 10 . Service connection for eczema of groin and bilateral feet is denied. 11 . Service connection for obsessive compulsive disorder is denied. 12 . Service connection for temporomandibular joint is denied. 13 . Entitlement to special monthly compensation based on housebound criteria being met is granted from Ju ly 23, 2007. 14 . A finding of incompetency is proposed. An examination will be scheduled at a future date to evaluate the severity of your service connected bipolar I disorder with psychosis consisting of paranoid delusion and both auditory and visual hallucinations, with sleep disturbances (claimed as psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, depressive disorder, and personality disorder). Your overall or combined rating is 100%. We do not add the individual percentages of each condition to determine your combined rating. We use a combined rating table that considers the effect from the most serious to the least serious conditions. We have enclosed a copy of your Rating Decision for your review. It provides a detailed explanat ion of our decision, the evidence considered, and the reasons for our decision. Your Rating Decision and this letter const itute OUf decision based on your claim received on June 14, 2007. It represents all claims we understood to be specifically made, implied, or inferred in that claim. We enclosed a VA Form 21-8760, "Additional Information for Veterans with ServiceConnected Permanent and Total Disability," which explains certain factors concerning your benefits.

I guess my question is...what happenes? I have not gotten a letter saying I am incompetent. But in the award box, it says $2828 withheld due to proprosed incompetency. I dont know if this means that they are going to see if I am incoptetent, or if they have decided. They have not said anything about what will happen next. It only says that an appointment will be set up in the future to see how bad my symptoms are. Incompetence means that I do not know what is going on. I know what is going on. I am kind of messed up becuase of my affliction but that does not mean that I am going to give my money away, or not pay rent, or live under and overpass. I am just sick. I dont really leave the house, and I dont make a lot of friends. But that is not incompetent. I live with my girlfriend and she loves me. I pay bills, cook food, help clean (well she would not quite agree about the cleaning ) but the point is that it just bothers me. I kind of did not want to get into this part of the conversation on line, but it kind of feels good to get it out of my system. It is not quite the kind of thing you have in conversations with people. I guess I have a little bit of confidence that people here wont make me out to be some freakshow exhibit. I know there are tons of messed up people here, so it is more of a safe forum to talk about things. Thanks for reading, and answering

I hope I post this right. The page has changed since the last time I came here. Well, after 9 months I have been found 100% disabled due to psychological problems. I also got rated for a ton of other stuff but that does not matter because of the 100% They also gave me the housebound allowance so the whole thing comes out to like $2829.00 a month. They wrote in there that there is a proposed case of incompetence. They also said that an appointment will be set at a later date to determine the severity of my symptoms. I have read about as much as I can about being found incompetent and having someone else ( which in my case would probably be some appointed person because I do not have familiy ) administer my personal affairs. I guess I am just hoping that someone who really knows about this can give me some facts. The things I have read are kind of not clear as far as what really happens step by step in a case like this. I would like to ask that there not be to much posting about how much the system trys to screw you or how messed up it is. I dont mean to be mean about it, but it does not help too much. When I think about this possibly happening, I dont feel so well on the inside. So, I would appreciate it if someone with information could take the time to share if they can. Thank you.

For what is is worth I put up a snapshot of the main part of the MEB decision. I left out all of the blah blah blah stuff. Sure you have seen them before. Thank you ever so much.

What would happen in my case with the retirement is that once I am awarded VA compensation I would have to relinquish my retirement pay. Which would be fine, because it is tax free. I dont know about the AF, but the way it happened to me in the Army is that the MEB papers went up and the PEB made the decision to give me 50%. I was not offered an option. But it is true that had I recieved 20% or below then they would have given me the severence package, and then I would have to in essence wait until I had paid that off before receiving my compensation. However, I also have some physical things that are being evaluated as well. If I had recieved the severance package, the amount that they would have held back would only be for what the VA was going to give me for the condition that got me the severance. So if I got the severance for the delusional disorder, then the va evaluated my case and gave me compensation for the delusional disorder, my neck and tinnitus, they would hold back the delusional disorder portion and give me the neck and tinnitus money. That way I would not be getting paid twice for the same ailment.