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Exam went ok. The doctor seemed to care but who knows. He told me he served 20 years in the Navy and was in the same place I was in when he was getting evaluated for his disabilities.

Thanks for the input. Today is my exam and I will let you know how it went.

Thank you Broncovet, this is great advice, and when I had my chronic pain exam I explained the situation the same way. Really my wife has no idea how much pain I am in some days and how I wake up screaming from the knee and now hip pain. I actually feel like my hip is worse than my left knee now in terms of how if impacts my life. So your other advice is not to bring the MRIs or Xrays or the article by the five doctors to the VES exam? What do you think about the hip orthopedic doctor saying "patient believes..." instead of what the other doctors (chiropractor and foot orthopedic doctor) said as "the left knee impacted the patient's gait over 20 plus years of walking and more likely than not affected the left hip and left foot". The strongest wording is from the chiropractor but is that enough?

Hello, I have an upcoming C&P exam with VES orthopedic doctor to look at my left hip and left foot. I have a 10% service connected rating for my left knee from over 20 years ago. Recently I applied for chronic pain and received 30% rating because the left knee pain has really impacted my way of life and family issues. I have several years of documented issues with my left hip and left foot, and I have a nexus letter from a chiropractor stating that it is more likely than not that the left knee injury over the last 20 years has caused a change in gait that has impacted my left hip and left foot. I also submitted the foot orthopedic doctor statement that says the same thing for my left foot. The hip orthopedic doctor said something similar, but said "the patient believes that the knee injury impacted his gait over 20 years and caused the left hip and left foot to have issues", later he clarifies that he thinks the left knee injury could have certainly impacted the left hip. I also submitted to the VA a medical study and article from five doctors that link and show that a knee injury can impact and cause hip issues on the same side. I have MRIs and X-rays showing the left hip issue is severe and I cannot even tie my shoes anymore. My left foot has issues that cause severe pain when walking on hard surfaces. Do I need to bring the MRIs and Xrays and nexus letters or anything else like the article from the five doctors to the appointment with the VES doctor? At this stage, I don't even care about a percentage I just want the VA to acknowledge and link my left hip and left foot issues to the service connected left knee. I was told by several doctors I should just get the hip replacement because I have tried for over six years now to use other methods like physical therapy, massage, etc., but noting can make the arthritis go away. I am only in my late 40s also. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Hello, I am rated at 10% for my left knee service connected due to injury on active duty almost 20 years ago. Recently I filed for chronic pain and received 30% rating, so now at 40%. For the last five to six years I have steadily had left hip and left foot pain, and have seen orthopedic doctors and tried rehabilitation and chiropractor visits to get things better. Three doctors have told me I need a hip replacement and these three doctors have documented my issues with the hip as severe osteoarthritis and femoral acetabular impingement syndrome. Also I have three letter that create a nexus to the left knee that states the left hip issues and left foot issues are more likely than not a direct result of my left knee service connected injury. I have MRIs and X-rays with reports that state the issues of the left hip and left foot. I will be filing a claim for the left hip and left foot as secondary to left knee service connected, and I will include the three nexus letters and evaluations. But do I need to send the VA my MRI and X-ray CDs? Will they order new MRIs and X-rays at the C&P? I have been in so much pain for so long and now finally trying to get this taken care of. I am waiting to get the hip replacement until I can service connect the hip and left foot to the knee injury on active duty. What can the hip and foot be rated at if I can get them to connect the issues to my left knee? I have read so many articles about knee injuries causing hip and foot issues like I have but my concen is the VA has denied even my tinnitus rating a few years ago. And I was infantry in the Marines. Any help or advice greatly appreciated before I send off this claim. Thank you!

Hello Rattler thank you for the link and the kind words. I guess my next question is, since I recently just filed the claim for chronic pain is it better to wait until I get a decision and possible rating for that before I send in a claim for PTSD and MST?

Wow all good comments here thank you. Brokensoldier244 thank you also for offering to take a look for me through direct message. My PTSD claim was denied in 2019, and I am not sure if it was because it was MST and at the time they didn't rate that.

So the VA won't look at the diagnosis from the chronic pain and then try to reduce the rating if their diagnosis of the PTSD or MST is less severe?

Hello, I recently made a VA claim for chronic pain due to my already existing 10% rated service connected left knee injury. I am waiting to hear back with a decision, I had the C&P and think it went ok. My question is, since I have filed a chronic pain claim, is it possible to file for other things like PTSD and/or MST? I was speaking with a company that helps veterans and they told me I can't file a claim for PTSD or MST since I filed a claim for chronic pain which falls under mental health.