drago

Thanks Everyone, that helps a ton! Actually turns out he passed a civilian hearing test, so might be much ado about nothing anyway. Thanks again!

I saw that, but wasn't sure if it meant just health care or if it included disability compensation.

Hi Everyone, I'm asking this for a friend of mine who is struggling with getting accurate info about his eligibility for VA disability compensation. He was in the National Guard and was activated and deployed to Germany for 9 months during Desert Storm. He saw no combat, and was never in the Persian Gulf. After 9 months in Germany his unit proceeded on to Kuwait, but he returned home. He received a flyer in the mail that he may qualify for VA Health Care (which I think he does based on some reading). He feels he has a hearing loss claim as well as a few other things, but he can't come up with a clear answer as to whether he qualifies. He did talk to a VSO who does not think he will qualify disability compensation because of the nature of his deployment and the fact the unit continued on but he came home. The VSO is willing to help with a claim though with the thought that "the VA will sort it out". That of course may take a while, so he's looking for any insight in the meantime. Any thoughts from the group or resources to look at? Thanks in advance, Drago *I did do some searching, and was sure it would be here, but I couldn't find it anywhere.

Hi Everyone, Thanks for the replies to this. I wanted to do a follow-up and ask yet another question. The background on my ischemic heart claim is I was experiencing shortness of breath and some chest discomfort. I went to the cardiologist who recommended a stress test. I failed the stress test, was diagnosed with ischemic heart disease and was sent for a cathertization for most likely a stent. Following the cathertization, the doc (who was always in a hurry), said I didn't need a stent and "everything went fine". So, I thought I had ischemic heart disease, but didn't need a stent. I had a yearly follow-up today with a different doctor in the practice who took some time and talked me through what had actually happened. Turns out I had a false positive on the stress test showing a blockage when there in fact wasn't one. The cathertization showed no blockages, and therefore I am not currently diagnosed with ischemic heart disease. So "yay" on that... at least one part of me is ok. But that's why part of the documentation I have shows ischemic heart disease and another part of it says I don't have it. Question then... do I just call up the VA and stop the eval process for ischemic heart since I literally do not have it?

GBArmy- not sure who "Peggy" is...? LOL I would do a letter etc., and I'm all about double checking everything. Pacman-no dependent kids, but my wife and I have talked and she is supportive, both for the benefit if I die from a heart issue, and also to see if it could blaze a path for others to claim the chemical exposure. Like I said, I think it is a loooooong shot to start with, and my heart condition is mild, and depending on the doctor, may not be there at all (one cardio says it's there, a second says it isn't). Broncovet- first, my apologies, I should have included you in the thank yous for helping along the way. You have also been a great resource. Being P&T, I don't *think* there should be any reductions from here on, but with the VA, all things are possible I guess. And I guess that is my ultimate concern, that the heart claim will cause a re-eval of everything, namely if the heart claim had lapsed and would be a "start over", would it open the door to another round of re-evals? and I am just not up for more re-evals...

And I have to say also, not looking for any additional benefits or anything. It would just be to have it on the record

GB, That is actually my preferred answer... for some of the very same reasoning. Do you know if it is possible to just cancel the claim without repercussions?

Hi Everyone, Been gone a while as I had to let everything digest and get comfortable in my own mind before posting to thank everyone for their help over the past few months. A brief refresh... I was in a vehicle accident about 40 years ago. Another soldier was killed in the mva, and I was busted up a bit. I struggled for a long time with mental issues related to the accident as well as some physical issues. On top of that, the base and range I worked on were chemically contaminated with all kinds of things from radiologic elements to agent orange and some biological agents. Went to VA for a hearing test, and ended up on the first and second rounds rated with: PTSD/TBI/AUD 70% Kidneys 60% Bladder 20% Headaches 0% Tinnitus 10% Denied for: Hashimoto's Disease (Thyroid) Spinal issues On the third round about a year later, my VSO and I put in for hypersomnia, high cholesterol (as a result of kidney issues), high blood pressue, and ischemic heart due to the chemical exposure. That triggered a new round of complete re-evaluations via C&P exams that spun me right out of orbit, as I basically spazzed and saw VA "conspiracy" all through it, because it's hard to relive all that happened and that got the better of me. So it was a VERY dark few months. But with the help of folks on here, with a special shout out to brokensoldier, pacman and GBArmy (and some prozac), I got through most of the appointments ok, and ultimately ended up with denials on almost everything (hypersomnia, cholesterol, bp, and back). Even though I had an ischemic heart appointment with xrays, ultrasound and dr. appointment, they deferred it, and are seeking a "redo". New ultrasound, new xrays, and new dr. appointment. I have pushed back a little on the xrays, as I don't want more radiation, but probably will end up getting them anyway. BUT since they did complete re-evals, my headaches finally got acknowledged accurately at 30% which put me over the top to 100%. Also, they deemed me permanent and total. As much as the benefits etc are great at 100%, and P&T means I shouldn't have to relive this anymore, it was hard to adjust to, because it is ultimately a group of medical professionals saying "you're broken and we don't think that will change". So, had some struggles with that. But I will say for anyone reading this, the VA counselor has been awesome, and once the psychiatrist got through to me that meds would be a help, the psych and meds have also gotten me to a better place. Not cured by any means, but not thinking daily of hurting myself, which is a big improvement. So... a hearty THANK YOU to everyone who shared knowledge and wisdom, and kind thoughts. Which leads me to hopefully my (hopefully) final questions... The ischemic heart was deferred pending new info. QTC was having a hard time getting it scheduled,spending over two months trying to get it done. In fairness to them, it was scheduled for January 24, but they had to cancel it due to the provider becoming ill. We tried to get together on a date, but my wife was travelling for work for 6 weeks, and I was going along, so QTC and I agreed to wait until I returned home in mid-March. They said they would take care of it with the VA. I called VA a week later to check, and the VA said they coudl see everything (cancelled appointment, attempts to reschedule), but they had no annotation I would contact to reschedule upon my return. They said they were glad I had called, as otherwise the claim would have dropped, and would have had to have been started all over. So my questions... Is it worth it to pursue the ischemic heart appointment? I'm already 100% P&T, so not going anywehere else, and I feel fairly certain it will be denied both because my condition is mild and could probably easily be claimed as age related, and also because there has not been an acknowledgement that the post and range were contaminated, at least not to service members. Local community people did get some sort of settlement. I know there are potential benefits to having the IH rating for on down the road, but I am worn out from all this, and just kind of need it to be over... If #1 answer is "not really worth it", can the claim just be dropped without repercussions? Would I just call the VA and say cancel it? If the answer to #1 is "yes", then should I also ask for higher reviews on the other issues as well? For example, I am diagnosed with hypersomnia (excessive daytime sleepiness, not narcolepsy, not "hyperinsomnia"), but in the denial, they denied me "hyperinsomnia" which is technically excessive inability to sleep I think. So it seems like the denial may be for the wrong condition. I do have a buddy letter from the civilian sleep doctor as well as multiple sleep study data saying it is definitely related to the TBI from the mva. From my point of view, I am ready for the VA stuff to be over, and I REALLY do not want to do something that would reopen me to C&P reevals. I'm feel very confident that they finally have me accurately rated except for the denials mentioned above, but I 1. don't want to relive the experiences again, and 2. it seems you never know with the VA and their contractors what the rater or provider will say. Thoughts from the group? And again, thanks to everyone for their help!

*broncovet-I've experienced the same thing, and after the first time I always made sure to follow-up with something like "you know, they asked me that last time and I couldn't remember for sure, so I looked up at home in some of my old pictures", or my wife had it noted on a calendar. In my case, I had ended up with thinking something had lasted one day, but paperwork and docs made it look more like two days. So I always have a disclaimer of "well, I remember it being one day, but the hospital records seem to indicate two days". Also have a claim about my back. Injury goes back to time in service, but no STRs about back. When I first sought treatment I was out 5 years or so, and gave the civilian doctor the cause as what I was lifting at the time. The injury in service didn't cross my mind. I repeated the story of injuring my back while lifting to several doctors over the years, so it is all through my records. Fast forward to a year or so ago, and my physical therapist asked how I hurt my back initially. I said lifting something. He said no, my injury would not have been from lifting, would have been from trauma previous to that, probably 4-6 years before that. I say like a blah-blah accident, and he says EXACTLY. I tell the VA, and they glom on to the lifting injury as the cause not a symptom, and kind of imply I've changed my story. Well, I HAVE changed myOPINION, but not my story. First time for treatment was 5 years after service at the first real sign of symptoms. I thought it was from lifting, BUT I'M NOT A DOCTOR. Trying to convince the VA has not been successful, and frankly from their end I get it. All through my records for 30 years it was from lifting, NOW to get compensation I say it was the military. So I just will keep providing more info to them. First PT buddy letter didn't sway them, so having him write another with more medical detail. And I had asked this previously on the forum, and it seems to have worked well. I now take very specific written notes along on all my issues, with the items for a particular C&P highlighted. I answer their questions from my notes because at any given moment I don't remember things well, and then I give them the notes when done. All truthful, and all consistent. My two biggest fears in the process were being labeled a malingerer or be accused of lying. Having well thought out notes based on memory and documents helped with both of those. Tell the truth, the system will sort it out.

Thanks Rattler. You are correct, they aren't cheap! I think I might scour the local libraries online, and see if any of them have those. Doubtful due to the cost, but worth a check. We have a higher than average veteran population, so maybe I'll suggest they buy a copy.

*brokensoldier-That is basically what he was trying to say I think. Then when i asked about coming in and meeting so we could talk about them he went into the "your out of county and I can't spend a lot of time with you". Which I get. Our guys at this level are paid by the county they work in, and the county commissioners get nutty about stuff like that, so I understand his position. On that topic though, I will be contacting one of my county commissioners to voice my concern about no one in county having access to such things, and perhaps in the short term they could work out an agreement with a neighboring county for support for individual veterans until our guys are up and running. I have a freedom of info request in to the VA, but that will take months I think. Not sure if calling the VA would get results any faster. *Mr. Cue-I certainly see a problem with this, and I'm in the process of trying to schedule an appointment with my congressman, my senator, and then a senator in a state I'll be traveling to in a few weeks. Everyone is on holiday break though, so have left messages and sent emails. If I don't hear back in a week I'll stop by their offices. They won't be there most likely, but at least then I can talk to a secretary or an assistant and hopefully schedule something. Sometimes talking to the assistant actually gets you further than talking to the representative anyway, because ultimately the assistant is the one who will do the research etc. As far as releasing the documents, I wish there was some way that there could be agreement on the DBQ/report BEFORE it is considered by the VA, or perhaps a section that the veteran would fill out themselves. I've had a couple DBQs that I feel do not accurately reflect what I said, but once the report is entered, it seems to be carved in stone. I think the DBQs function on the ability of the dr to accurately write things down, and it seems that does not always happen. Even if it was a simple review of the DBQ by the vet, with ability to add an "addendum" to be considered by the rater. It would probably be hard for a dr and a vet to "negotiate" a DBQ, but some sort of feedback directly from the vet unfiltered by a dr doesn't seem like too much to ask. Of course to do that, we would need to see the DBQ before filed! My problem with this and so many things is that the waiting drives me crazy. Approve or deny, either way I understand. It's the waiting and the delays. This whole process started in June, and they are just now scheduling what i think will be the last DBQ appointment for the matter that started the whole process in the first place. That was actually what I really liked about my VSO. I'd have an appointment, we would sit and talk, and he would do everything that needed done while I was sitting there. He'd start typing, ask me a question, type some more, etc. So when I walked out, my stuff was done, it was thorough, and he didn't need to think about me until the next appointment. It's the "glad you came in, I'll work on this tomorrow" stuff that I find frustrating.

So bit of an update... I was able to talk to a county VSO from a different county about getting copies of C&P exams. He was willing to help but said he has not had anyone ask for copies of the exams (completed DBQs) before and he wanted to check to see if he was allowed to release them to me. He said he spoke to someone at the state level who said he is only allowed to release copies of things he has done for the veteran i.e. he was the "owner/creator of". He was told that DBQs are created by the VA, and therefore he is not allowed to release those. They must come from the VA who is the owner/creator of them. EDIT: Just researched a bit and it seems he is correct. Looks like VSO's should not give out copies. I'm not sure that is accurate, and I think perhaps we may have been talking about two different things. I'm after the DBQ form that the doctor/PA/CRNP/psychiatrist completes at an appointment. I think he may have been thinking a "report" that a VA rater may create based on the evidence, DBQ etc. Either way, I won't be getting the DBQs from him. I pressed him a little and he said that since I'm not in his county, he can't really do too much for me. Sooo... I guess I'll continue looking for a way to get those...

Thanks Broncovet. That is interesting, as even with my good VSO, he never, ever, returned a call. The most I would get was the clerk calling to schedule an appointment. The challenge is with him moving on, we were to connect via cell, which I think was his personal cell, and then exchange emails etc. once he had his new email. Since leaving his original vso position and going to the new vso position, I haven't gotten anything back. Someone "who knows people who know him" have said his new position is more than VSO, and he is overwhelmed and unable to do much for anyone at this point. I'm more inclined to think he got a new phone or something and isn't getting word I'm trying to get in touch. The very frustrating part is that the ebenfits site and va.gov just don't provide much detail, so on topics like "I wonder if he was able to upload this", or "did that actually get in the file?", it seems a person needs someone with that level of connectivity.

Thanks Fellows, it will take me a while to digest that and look at those links. I actually stopped in the office today with a list of the C&P reports I need, and was told that the new person (who is the "director") doesn't have access yet as he needs more training, and no one else in the office has access either. It was suggested I contact the QTC doctors directly. So I am definitely on the hunt for a new vso and looking to educate myself.I know I can't get access to the various systems, but again, the more I know... the more I know. Kind of sad really, because that is going to leave pretty much a whole county without support. At this point, since still awaiting decisions on the 5 pending claims, all I really need is the reports themselves. I don't even need to take someone's time to go through them. Just record keeping for now...

Hi All, Is anyone aware of any free or reasonable cost training on how to navigate the VA system (file claims, higher level reviews, new evidence, etc)? My VSO who is/was excellent has moved on, and I'm sort of floundering without him and his system access. The folks in the county office are both new, and well intentioned, but I'm not sure they have the level of access to my file that he had. The one guy says he doesn't yet have the ability "to see behind the curtain", and the other fellow is newer than him, so I'm guessing he can't either. Called a couple places (DAV and state office) but waiting on return calls, and realized as has been said in the forum before, no one will care about my claim like I will (and my previous VSO did). More knowledge can't hurt anyway. I also just submitted online for my c file, but I don't think that will give me "live" access. I think I just get a pdf or pack of copies. Anyway, looking for something that will help me manage my claim better if I do end up alone or working with a rookie VSO. Probably a bit above "VA for Dummies", but not much above that... Thanks for any help or suggestions, and my apologies as this is probably on the forum already, I just cant seem to locate it, D

Thanks Broncovet. The decision was in June 2021. I think the challenge is my VSO has been handling everything to this point. We would meet, he would tell me what is happening to the claims as he could see from whatever system he was accessing, we would talk about ways to respond, and he would enter that, read it back to me, I would say sounds good or add something additional, and he would submit it. Which was all fine, except now, like I said, I have not been able to get in touch with him since he changed jobs. Not sure if I've offended him, he's sick, moved, etc. So with some of the claims/supplementals, I'm not sure exactly what we did, whether new evidence has been submitted basically as my rebuttal to a decision, whether we asked for a higher level review, etc. For example, the last rejection from VA was basically "no precipitating event in service", to which we responded something like "training accident on [date] with follow-up care for injury and pain on [date] as shown in medical report of [date]". I *think* that rebuttal info is what is now showing in va.gov as a "decision was made on Dec. 1", but va.gov also usually says a letter has been mailed, but it does not say that this time. None of the percentages that I can see via va.gov have changed, so I'm assuming that means denied again because it has now been 11 days since the decision. The other new claims are still pending, and if I recall from earlier, when there are several things pending they wait and send everything as one big packet, but I could be mistaken on that. Either way, when something like that happened, I'd talk to my VSO, and he would look it up and we would go from there.

I'm going to answer my own question #1... I logged into the QTC portal, and it now says that there is an "acceptable clinical evidence" exam next week. I think I will still follow-up and see how I can go about having the person call me, since in the other exams I didn't go into detail about how often and the severity of headaches. So, a revised question: Is there a way I can submit a buddy letter for this review myself since my VSO is out of the loop?

Hi All, I'm back again... still working on claims that started last July, and I apologize if this is a little scrambled. In a nutshell, I'm currently rated 90%, 70 PTSD/TBI/alcohol, 20 bladder, 60 kidneys, 10 tinnitus, 0 headaches, 0 hearing loss. "0" for headaches was because first evaluator would not listen to my comments about them. I also have degenerative disc disease which is related to a training accident but has been denied because when I went to civilian dr. I made a statement I hurt it doing construction. My current PT said (unsolicited) that the injury would not have been from lifting, but from trauma years earlier aka the training accident. Also been diagnosed with hypersomnia that the civilian dr. says is definitely from training accident. More on that in a moment. So hypersomnia is pending claim, high blood pressure is pending, and heart disease is pending. So, filed hypersomnia, heart disease and blood pressure in July via my VSO. The back had been denied, and was asking for review after submitting a buddy letter from PT. At least I thought it was pending review. At some point in August, the VA "combined claims", and put everything into one claim. The hypersomnia apparently is related to PTSD, so VA asked for re-evals for PTSD, TBI, as well as a "general physical" presumably for blood pressure and heart disease. It took forever to get those appointments via QTC, but they are complete now. PTSD as 1 Oct, TBI was 6 Oct, and general physical was early Nov. Then QTC called to schedule an echo-cardiogram of heart, which was 24 Nov. QTC has now called to schedule a re-eval of headaches,PTSD and TBI, and audiology (which I pushed hard for headaches in PTSD and TBI appointments because first dr didn't accurately reflect them). Anyway, QTC said they were calling to schedule ONE appointment for all those, and I said I just had PTSD, TBI, and general physical appointments. QTC rep became defensive and said she could note I was refusing to go. I said I wasn't refusing to go, I'll go where they send me, but PTSD and TBI were done less than 60 days ago, and the appointments are difficult. She said she would call provider to get them scheduled, would I hold. Sure. She came back after 5 minutes or so, said the whole thing needs referred back to the VA because the file/request is not processed correctly, the PTSD, TBI, audiology, and headaches all have to be separate appointments. I asked if she was sure they wanted all those or if they wanted an appointment for headaches that is RELATED to PTSD/TBI/Alcohol Use Disorder and the alcohol use disorder is abbreviated AUD that LOOKS LIKE audiology. Back to "I can note you do not want to attend..." Now waiting on QTC to call back with the reprocessed VA request... In the meantime, I've been checking the VA.gov website, and the one claim has changed to "claim closed" as of 7 Dec (Pearl Harbor Day, how ironic), and nothing further shows. In fact, even less shows than when it was an open claim. My VSO changed jobs and is kind of MIA, so I have no way to "see behind the curtain" and see what is going on. The disc disease claim/review seems to also be missing from all the claim information that is visible on va.gov. Sorry to be so lengthy, but I know detail is helpful. This all leads to several questions: Any insight from anyone about might be going on with the request to have all new appointments 66 days after just having them? Paperwork SNAFU? What happens with the back claim since it appears the additional review may not have been uploaded, and not within 30 days of the decision if it was? The decision was in June. Is that just dead and gone then, or can it be refiled? EDIT**Looks like I may have misread the dates on the website. It appears there is actually a year from the decision to request further review? VSO-the guy I was working with was great, said when he changed jobs to a similar organization he would keep my case, but now I simply get in touch with him. The people in the office now are all kind of new, and have said my case is complicated and I should stick with the original guy. Is there a way to get access to "a file" somewhere, and work on my own claim(s)? or at least be able to get a hint at what's going on? Thanks everyone for listening and any help you can provide...

*pwrslm-exactly. the team in conjunction with the psych report think I may have some "syndrome" that they want the neuro to look into

I know this has been a while, but thought I'd follow-up to maybe help someone else. It seems "Polytrauma" is a pretty wide ranging support that is basically a service coordination support. The "team" decided based on several data points that i should probably have a neuropsych. It seems in my case it was due to having some early dementia symptoms (memory trouble, language trouble, frequently getting lost, etc). The neuropsych was done by a private provider as a community partner. She was nice, and did a battery of memory and visual spatial tests. Generated a report that actually showed that my actual memory was ok, and did not indicate early dementia, but i did have several subtests of concern. That report has now led to the polytrauma team/dr. referring me to actual neurology for a consult. That appointment is scheduled for about four months from now due to a backlog. So thus far, it seems to be fairly benign...

Just got the paperwork for the poly trauma eval which is scheduled for Monday. I believe the appointment is for a “neuropsychological evaluation”, and paperwork says the appointment will be 3 hours long. The MOCA I just took lasted about four minutes… I called the office where eval will be to ask what all is entailed in the test, but had to leave a message, and I’m guessing the office may be closed on Fridays. Soooo… any insight from anyone as to what all may be involved?

Thanks EI Train, I appreciate the information and the offer to pm. It will be really interesting to see how it turns out. My $.02 would be that the 70% for PTSDby itself is appropriate, as I really do struggle with that... a LOT. At the time, based on the initial report, I can see why the actual VA rater assigned TBI as present, but bundled it with PTSD as they are similar. I'm HOPING that now when considering the hypersomnia which is a new civilian diagnosis and is now being treated, as well as the new info if it gets included (the notes really were notes, I was going to fill in a lot verbally) the rater (not QTC evaluator) will consider that as "more". The hypersomnia has been a problem since the actual incident itself and has been a lifelong thing. Just be kind of nice to have some sort of acknowledgement, even if it doesn't move the needle toward 100. My apologies to the group as well because I think I'm perhaps a little more talkative in my posts than necessary, but its really kind of cathartic and helpful to just get this "stuff" out there. Thank you for listening and the support.

Separate question then: For higher rating purposes, would it be better to have them find a decision of no TBI, and then submit hypersomnia as a stand alone item? Or maybe for conversation to say that TBI had originally been denied, and then submit hypersomnia as a stand alone? Hope that makes sense...

It will be interesting to see how it turns out. In my case, it's not that any one thing is severe, it is just many mild symptoms, that combined make life a bit difficult. Ultimately, as I've said before, and i think like many going through the process, I just want to be "heard". Yesterday's appointment would have been 20 minutes if I would have let it. Even by trying to explain some of my symptoms, I felt I was very much annoying the evaluator. I think the evaluator's preference would have been for me to simply say the issue is hypersomnia, do the MOCA, and be done. Also, I had taken with me "my notes", which were a list of my VA ratings, civilian diagnoses, and then examples of each category on the DBQ. So for memory, attention, concentration I noted how I was unable to tell my wife where a funeral was held for a friend the week before. I couldn't remember which road it was on. So I listed that, and similar things. At the end, as the evaluator was pretty much forcing the appointment to end, I handed the notes and asked if they would help. The answer wasa grudging "sure", then a quick review and then looking at the computer, then the notes, then the computer a statement of "oh... these align with the actual form" with a dead stare at me. I said yes, I reviewed the previous eval and the form that is available online, and made my notes to match because I thought we would probably go section by section in this appointment. I know it is dangerous to ascribe motive to looks and statements, but I think that format at the very least caught the evaluator off guard, and perhaps had a hint of "unethical" in the look and questions. Could be my own paranoia though.

Hi All, Just had TBI review. I'll not go into great detail in the unlikely occurrence the actual examiner would happen to read this post LOL... but stranger things have happened... Anyway, I'd call the review very light, basically with reviewer asking me (after she realized I was already service connected TWICE) what about my TBI has changed since the initial. I said now diagnosed with hypersomnia. She asked why I thought that was connected to TBI. I said because civilian dr said so. She asked why he said that, i said I'm assuming a medical reason but don't really know. Then was given the MOCA and passed with flying colors except for the very end when asked to repeat the words from the middle of the test. So new question... how much weight does the MOCA carry in the process?