Doc John

No, I am not working, but I am attending school 1/2 time on Chapter 31, Voc Rehab, benefits. I am struggling to pass. Memory and concentration are poor.

Yes, I see a VA psychiatrist regularly and am on several psychotropic meds and also receive individual counseling at the Vet Center every two weeks. I didn't know I would need a letter. Thank you for mentioning it. My wife is going with me and will give her testimony if she is allowed to.

I am scheduled for a C&P evaluation for rating purposes tomorrow at the VARO, Bay Pines, FL. Currently I am at 30% for PTSD. Things have gotten worse and I applied for an increase in compensation. What can I expect- will I be reexamined by another psychiatrist or will I see a hearing officer? My American Legion rep said it is possible to lose my compensation and I am very afraid I might somehow say the wrong thing.

Bluewater- as in Gator Navy- amphibious ships with 31st MAU/ ARG 6. I will watch for the Haas Report. When is it due out? Doc John

Thanks to Pete and Berta. I am now looking for an environmental medicine specialist near my home in St. Petersburg, Fl. Doc John

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I have been gone since Thanksgiving and I was glad to see the responses on this thread. My oncologist (cancer doc) said he cannot state that AO "more likely than not" caused my adenoid cystic carcinoma. I think the advice about seeing an AO expert might be just what I need to follow up on. If there are any vets from the Vietnam war who had successful claims for exposure on to AO on Okinawa let me know. DJ

Hi Berta, Johnson Atoll is the one I am thinking of and I think the agent orange was dumped in '71 or '72. I was on Okinawa in '73, but I understand that the stuff stays in the soil and can harm living creatures for many years. It was loaded on ships at the same piers where we loaded our amphibious assault ships with Marines and equipment. Too bad about Evans, maybe someone else will pick up the line. Thanks, Doc

Lately, I have come to that same conclusion. By denying or avoiding the whole story, I have prolonged the process and caused myself more grief... Thanks Doc John p.s. my brother was a corpsman on the Repose in 1968/1969, got COG/RVN/PH. Died last year at 59. SC100% for PTSD + AO lung cancer.

Josephine, You are preaching to the choir. I am with you on this subject 100% and I, too, have been dealing with the psychiatrists since 1981, about five years after my first active duty enlistment. Where I really messed up first was in not going to the M.D.s in the service (out of shame and guilt) and then by waiting until 2000 to file my first claim with the VA. Instead I got treatment with IMOs on my own insurance, two of whom have retired and my records no longer exist. The Department of the Navy Historical section has helped me get records from Judge Advocate General but there is always a whited out space where the names of witnesses, coworkers, and patients I treated, got "dedacted"(sp). After I get the next IMO letter conforming to what the VA demands, I am off to the lawyer. A 20% contingency fee is more reasonable every minute! Thanks, Doc John

Tbird, I went to that link and read : "A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication". The problem with THE DRO decision is that my medical records clearly show that I am constantly on at least one, and right now, two antidepressants, and xanax and I can only work a four hour day at very structured types of tasks of a repetetive nature. I have only one close friend and cannot sustain long lasting relationships or even acquantances without screwing things up...except my second marriage which is going on 15 years because of my wife's understanding and commitment to our vows. On meds I am probably 30%. Off meds I would be an in-patient or a cell mate somewhere. I will prevail. Thanks, Brother.

BQ, My stressors were non-combat - As a ward Corpsman on surgical ICU at Long Beach Naval Hospital in 1972, as an Emergency Medical Tech on an ambulance crew at Camp Pendleton, Ca. and as a FMF grunt platoon corpsman with the USMC 3RDMARDIV and 1STMARDIV 1973-1976. Thanks, Doc John

Big John, I think the VSO screwed up on this one, too. I didn't realize it until I noticed that the appeal had no "PTSD" on it. Do ya think VSO's ever make "under the table" deals with the DRO's? I wonder. Know any good lawyers in our TampaBay area? I got an appointment with Dr. Karatinos for the IMO. Thanks, Doc John

Hey TestVet, My wife and I were just laughing at that "100% of nothing". That makes a lot of sense. I think i'll go with the IMO AND the Lawyer. I really don't have anything to lose, do I???? Thanks Brother, Doc John

Hey y'all, I am on my second VA decision for PTSD and MDD since April. The C&P in March said I have major depression " which more likely than not began during my service" as an EMT and Navy 8404 Field Medical Tech at Okinawa and Camp Pendleton in the early 1970's. Right after my DRO hearing (where I got the 0%) my VSR filed a new claim (VAFORM 21-4138) for Panic Aattacks ,Anxiety, MDD, and Depression. I wonder if I get a new claim iniation date that will start the clock again? Will I still have my SC for the PTSD dated April 2005 if it is not on the new appeal form? At this point I have made an appointment for an IMO with an ex-VA psychiatrist to get a letter to rebutt the 0% SC rating the DRO gave me. (Thanks to john999) I am considering an attorney and thought one of the other hadit members might know a pro bono or dirt cheap lawyer who is familiar with VA comp appeals in the St.Petersburg/Tampa, Florida area. I have spoken to one Atty who wants 20% of any settlement. Is that reasonable? How would he get paid, by me or VA? I feel like Josephine- like "I just want to go for it". Thanks, Doc John

That's very encouraging. I'll ask my primary care MD to set it up. Doc John

Thanks, Buick, This was a good site for research! I will get VA to give me the test. Doc

Thanks Berta. I remember seeing the dictionary once, but now I can't find it. I wasn't sprayed with AO but it was stored in barrels on Okinawa at, I believe, Camp Futenma. That was where I had to go to see the dentist for my TMJ. The navy finally dumped it all on some little atoll in the Pacific. Doc John

Berta, Thanks for your reply. I am a newbie at hadit and do not always understand acronyms an abbreviations. What are "CUE" and "AO" ? Doc John

Dear JP, I am affraid your assessment of the high beaurocracy may be right on. How can they exclude those veterans who were injured in the line of duty- no matter where that duty led them. Blue water, red dirt, rice paddy or cloudy sky, a disabled military veteran is the same. Doc John

Berta, Last night I did some more searching and found the soft tissue cancer list you spoke of. Mine was not there. I also searched VA for adenoid cystic carcinoma and found that in most claims it was denied as service connected. Thanks, Doc John

I agree with you, Time. I was off work for a year for cancer and another year for back surgery and almost any thing is better than not being productive if you can be. HM2 Doc John

I was told by my VSO that some cancers are "presumptive" for service connection. I had cancer surgery in 2000 for adenoid cystic carcinoma (a.k.a. cylindroma) , along with chemotherapy and radiation. My face is disfigured and I need physical therapy on my jaw 20-30 times a year so that I can open my mouth and chew solid food. I am in remission but have been assured by my oncologist that metastases will occur eventually in my lungs, and it will kill me if I don't die waiting for it. I searched hadit.com and found this decision from the VA::: http://www.va.gov/vetapp93/files2/9315426.txt If I could get it, I would appreciate some expert VA advice from the Elders, VA employees or Berta, who helped this widow originally. Thanks, Doc John

As a Hospital Corpsman from 1972-1992 I found that no one wanted to be labled as having a personality disorder. Including me. It sometimes led to a less than honorable discharge and the label followed you even after leaving the service. From working as a USMC platoon corpsman to working at the OCS clinic at Quantico, I saw the person tagged with "personality disorder" discharged with no service connected disability. The Navy and Marine Corps attached a stigma to those service men and women who complained of any symptoms which are now called PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder. I had those symptoms on active duty but would not have gone to an M.D. unless I was coming completely unraveled. And now I have to prove my claim for PTSD is higher rated than 0%. You are not alone. My DRO stated I "embellished" my military service and medical records. How the heck do you do that? Either they are true or not, I did not write my own records. I think john999 is right "These guys can invent anything to avoid a payout of big bucks" but they cannot rewrite history. Doc John

The DRO added the one word, "embellished", to describe what she otherwise found to be a service connection for my PTSD in her report. It is impossible for anyone to embellish medical or military documents. They are either true or false. My shrink says that this is just another way of taking away some of the affirmation from her report to personally demean me. Let her have her kicks. In the end the truth will prevail.