worriedshrimp

thanks broncovet and j999, it's rather an interesting hilltop to be marooned on - 70%. i'm almost positive my newest maladies like my old one will be static. i've got time to sus this out. with careful attention to all that has been suggested in this thread.

thanks for the input, i also recently filed and intent to file within a year. so, later this year i'll be due for another checkup and follow thru with your VR&E recommendations.

greetings, I've recently been rated 70% overall. This culminated via Service Connected 10 % tinnitus (static), then later SC 20% bilateral hearing loss (static), and finally SC 60% ischemic heart disease with an additional 10% for Hypertension – Agent Orange related. Whether or not the IHD and hypertension is rated static I don't have a clue since I can not easily attain my newest code sheet. The DAV won't send it to me. I've applied for it via the freedom of information act, but last time I did this it took a year to receive. My question, finally, is should I apply for unemployability? I'm a few weeks away from the age of 73, retired and overall pretty pooped all the time. I believe my greatest work related problem besides being tired all the time is my ability to hear/comprehend anybody... if there is any external noise, wind, machines, etc. I simply can not understand what people say. I asked my DAV representative and he said don't even try to file unless I can get a doctor to declare me unemployable. I doubt that my VA primary care doctor will do such a thing. My VA health annual physical is due in a few weeks so perhaps that is the time to sort some of this out as it relates to a potential TDIU claim. I am seeking advice from this very welcomed forum. Thanks.

Thanks GBarmy and Vync, i did save a copy of my current readings and suppose i could look up my initial readings at the myhealthevet site. the qtc people told me that my appointed doctor is going to review those records tomorrow at 10am i don't have to be present but should remain available in case he wants to call me. i'll report the claim results when they become available in several weeks no doubt.

greetings HadIt, today I got a call from QTC about my hypertension claim. After some rig-a-ma-roll about waiting for an exam date and or driving 100 plus miles to an exam site the QTC agent told me he could email me the necessary single page form and I could go to my local fire department and have the blood pressure test done and then fax it to them. Since I'm on BP medication I only needed the single three reading test done – left arm, right arm, left arm. This negated a 3 day series of test. So I went to my local fire dept and had a heck of a time getting admitted, all doors locked, had to press a call button etc... anyway they let me in and were happy to take the readings. I asked them if they'd ever done this before and apparently I'm the first. My blood pressure readings were uncommonly high I think because of the text at the bottom of the QTC form, which read: Please return this completed form with all labs, x-rays, and other diagnostics. Blood pressure checks must be completed within ONE WEEK of original date of appointment. If the claimant is approved to have blood pressure done off-site and fails to return the form as required, they will have their exam report submitted to the VA without this essential information. Just thought I'd post this C&P adventure since it's a new one for me and maybe to others as well. sorry this is not a question...

thanks! Dustoff i used tri west for my local cardiology hospital via VA community care i think it is now called. both procedures were uncomfortable. they only allowed a mild sedative since i was obliged to respond in the form of breath in and breath out etc... the angiogram catheter was administered thru the groin, just a sting... however when it was removed a nurse had to pinch and pressure it HARD for fifteen minutes and that hurt! the stent operation was really long and abnormal i was told later since they couldn't drill out the calcium/plaque and the balloon wouldn't open it adequately for a while i thought they were going to give up... however they employed another tool some kind of sonic wave (similar maybe to shattering gal stones) anyway that remedy was able to push the calcium forward like a wave until enough was push away to allow the balloon to expand to the necessary diameter and two stents were inserted that over lapped each other. i have not yet seen the images. GBArmy i will pay attention to what you've elaborated on... i do hope things go as you mention... i could use an extra monetary boost. and my new DAV nso seems really keen on me getting as much compensation as possible he seems to think i have a wealth of possible claims. i did declare dislocated shoulders years ago it was denied since i'm sure i never attended a C&P exam... i exited a huey from extreme height while being inserted into one of those 'hover holes in the a shau... also he says i have a ptsd claim that was denied but i have never filed for ptsd or i would have remembered... maybe that was a result of being deported from australia in the early 90's... a lot of water under the keel in 72 years for this old fart. thanks for the valuable input

greetings once more, exciting times at the hospital for me. i presented myself for a final invasive ct angiogram this week and after being prepped i submitted to the procedure... the good doctor shouted found it! and declared he had discovered the errant artery hidden behind the heart that was giving me trouble, it was completely blocked - calcium. he showed me on the screen and said we should waste no time and have it stented... an attending nurse told me i was lucky that it wasn't worse which would warrant open heart surgery, i agreed... that same afternoon i was hustled off to the cath lab where i underwent a difficult 2 hour procedure which culminated in the placement of two overlapping drug-eluting stents. i was released the next day and am now happily home off gassing the cocktail of drugs they gave me... i have two new drugs - clopidogreL taken daily with asprin and nitroGLYCern in case i have heart pains. yesterday I notified my DAV nso who told me to secure and send to him the complete medical reports to include post op details etc... He told me that he'd file a claim since iam a vietnam veteran with agent orange presumptive status... i found an online form at my regional cardiology center that allowed me to have the full reports sent to me via email. i can forward these to my nso as soon as i get them. never been hospitalized before... never had such a claim filed before... any input by those who have would be welcome... fingers crossed and hoping for the best. thanks for a great forum.

WOW.... Thanks Dustoff... will do

greetings once more, Since my last post I've had the bruce stress test, echo-cardiogram and yesterday the non evasive Electrocardiogram-gated CT. Of all these test the last was the most distressing with findings of right coronary artery: heavily calcified (among other things) the test conclusions were: Elevated coronary calcium score at 1337 Agaston units which is at the 80th percentile for age and gender, placing the patient at elevated risk for cardiovascular events over the ensuing 10 years. Also, inadequate evaluation of coronaries due to motion artifact from respiration and presence of heavy calcification. Recommend invasive angiography. So I expect to receive an appointment for the invasive angiography soon. I remain unsure whether or not any of these coronary problems raise to the level of an agent orange presumptive, however on the outside change that they do I need to prepare for that eventuality. I'm not sure where to began. I'm assuming the DAV will submit my claim should it be necessary (since they are my VSO). Does this require a C&P exam? Who fills out the VA DBQ? Is it intended that the DBQ's be completed by the Veteran's health care provider? Or does the private medical clinician fill out the information blocks and sign and date it? Having never gone through this before these are my questions. Additionally, I wonder if this is also the time and place to file for a hypertension claim and whether that would be separate from the heart disease claim? So many questions so little time... anyway, thanks for an exceptional forum.

this thread, at least for me, presents another question in regards to the new veterans bill H.R.3967 - Honoring our PACT Act of 2022. specifically the ruling on hypertension purportedly to began in october of 2022. at what level will pre - medicated hypertension/high blood pressure be measured? maybe someone with more knowledge of how the system works can chime in on this specific. noteworthy also are the many new presumptive issue for gulf war veterans and the like. thanks again for this informative group of folks.

thanks GBArmy and Dustoff 11 for your personnel experiences and advice. these exams are a series of community care labs i've been appointed via my local va health care clinic. they are a result of finally going to the va sick with chest pains and overall malaise - my first person to person visit since the pandemic began. they said i looked pretty sick and they were going to 'kick my tires'... there is also a dreaded urology appointment coming as well... i really didn't give much stock in maladies from agent orange but now later in life i may be copping the benefits of humping the herbicide bush. between the cardiology and urology test i'll be flogging reports to the DAV for months to come. only recently got bilateral hearing loss added for a total of 30 percent service connect rating. i'll post my progress as things develop, ya never know my experience may assist others following a similar medical path. drive on

greetings hadit, my question relates to the cardiology reports generated from doctors. so far i have had the treadmill stress test and am scheduled to have an echo-cardiogram early next month - june. to be sure this is a slow process. i have not yet received the results of the stress test and it's been well over a week – the cardiology clinic is tasked with sending the reports to my local va health center. meanwhile i've managed to successfully disengage from my local county state funded vso and been accepted by the DAV, who i understand will now be the only entities allowed to examine my DD214 folder. the DAV called to welcome me and insisted that i also send them information about any existing hypertension as i am an agent orange presumptive vietnam 11b10 veteran. in regard to the cardiology reports which part should i forward to the DAV? the summary? or the hard to understand detailed medical notes. With the cardiology visit came a new blood pressure prescription Metoprolol Succinate Er 25 Mg. I would like to pare this down to the essentials so as not to overload the DAV. I presume they will base the merits of a new claim and possible rating on the medical results. Thanks for an outstanding forum and the patience to address my query. tws

thank you gbarmy, broncovet and asdf for your excellent advise. pls accept my apologies for this belated reply. yes indeed i need to sort this marriage issue out

I thank you veterans for all the replies. they are very helpful.... i've been absent and really appreciate your input. i concur about not insulting my current and only vso... i emailed the manager?/administrator and asked for a copy of my rating code sheet. if i encounter any further trouble from this vso i've contacted another larger vso upstate and will attempt to do business with them. i have an upcoming stress test with the valleys best cardiology team. afterwards if the results warrant i shall be attempting to seek a c&p exam for possible benefits. so these early forays into the workings both good and bad of our va system is important - specifically veteran service officers. i would like to add that i find the va health and vba services to be exemplary and have never hesitated to give them high marks in their surveys.

greetings, i found this on the internet: i understand it is possible to Remove, or Change, Representation? You may discharge your attorney, claims agent, or VSO representative at any time and for any reason by informing VA of your request in writing. i'm interested in removing my records from my local vso office and dismissing their representation of me forthwith. i would rather be represented by any other reputable vso office in my state. i have not yet found where and how to inform the va and hence the problematic vso of my intention. so am asking here if there is a necessary protocol that is followed; a form letter etc that i would be obliged to submit to my local vso to accomplish this act. links to any such knowledge would be welcomed. thanks for this worthwhile forum.