ShrekTheTank

Congrats!!!

The VA can always look. The issue is they need cause to look into the other issues. I have put in for many increases and never had them look at them. Also if they did my answers would always be the same as my conditions have not improved. I assume you have doctors visits and everything, and normally issues don't get better as we age. They will get worse, so it is good to look into increases.

Hi Kadyr, Have you used up your GI bill? Yes they do have VOC rehab avalible. A lot of people here have used it to get into a new line of work. Chapter 3 Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) - Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs (va.gov)

I have had a fast one. I got the best results from it. The doc had all my records because printed them out and then highlighted the important parts. I have heard of both so; you just have to wait and see.

It really depends. I would say it should not, as I have submitted it before and been fine. I have heard of people saying it did make it take longer. If it was me, I would submit it as if you do not, they could make a decision without all the information. You will not lose your place, could just take longer due to them needing to look at new information.

hey

No. This is a BVA to CAVC back to a BVA now. Has been going on since 2014. My 10 year anniversay is next year

No but I have gotten some movement as I had a Video conference that I never wanted removed. I had to FAX the VA to ge them to stop trying to reschedule it. So it should be nearing the judge, I hope!

This is crazy how slow they are. I mean for mine I just need an EED. should take and hour to look at it and say yep they messed up and fix it. So it is just nuts.

I would be making some inquiries. Find out what is taking so long. Make sure they put the correct date on it. I have heard of that causing issues. 2+ years is a very long time even for the BVA.

It is not taxable. Only on the disability. If you get retirement and pension, it is different.

So now that i got the hearing removed. I have gotten a ton of movement. The privacy act is completed, and the Written arguments are completed. So now I think I might actually be getting it sent to judge. We will see.

Congrats!

get them in today or you lose another month

yes you sure can

can you get depression ontop of PTSD? or do they lump it up together?

I would for sure reach out and find out what is going on. https://ask.va.gov/ This has worked very well. I have asked them two questions and go answers back with 7 day and then 5 days. They fixed the issue I had, but I did not know I had until the first question was answered. Mine had a hearing scheduled that I did not want then they kept trying to reschedule it. This has caused a ton of delays. It is removed now from what they say. I would ask what is going on and see what their reply is.

this is the crap that we have to fight.

I am sure they did, but unless you say it hurts they do not put it in the report. You got this!

So you are right, that does seem low. Now I am going to tell you the issues I have had when I go in. I let the C&P doc go as far as they can and I suck it up. They are testing you ROM to see how far you can move it. This is fine, but you need to tell they hey that HURTS!!! once you feel pain you tell them. Most of the military people are oh i am going to suck this up and not say anything. This is not the time for that. When they ask how bad your pain is you tell them it was an 8 on tuesday and on wednesday and any other time. You don't go in and say oh right now i am at a 3 because I am not hurting that bad right now. These are common pitfalls we make. My advice is to put in a NOD and when you get the new C&P exam you need to be honest about it. Tell them when it hurt and let them know the pain at the worst time also. Do not lie, but do not hold back either. They are trying to see how bad your condition is and if you are not honest then there is no way for them to know. You can also try to get your Doc to give you an exam to see how bad it is so it is in your record or you might have that and you need a new C&P exam. Worst case you might need an IMO, but it sounds like you got a lowball and you need to fight it.

The issue is with chronic pain, they normally will put it with whatever the disability is. Now if you have pain they can't just lump with something else then I think this is where it will come into play. As far as I know there is no just raiting for pain. Like the one article said if it is lumped with depression, then then they rate it based on how bad it affects your ability to do things. For example I have one of the top 10 most painful diseases in the world. I get 60% for the issues it causes me. I would think it would be 100% but it is not. I have fought them for 10 years and it does not look to be changed. I also have Fibro which the VA uses as a catch all. They also have chronic fatigue syndrome. They will use these to cover the pain part from what I can see. As the citation shows it is possible to get chronic pain, but you will start to run into the issue of pyramiding. If the VA is already rating you for pain from something else and not just pain, they will not just give a seperate rating. My example is for my dercums disease I also had scaring with pain. They removed my 30% from scaring and moved it to my disease and gave me a lump 60%. IMO i should have both, but they determined that I am overlaping and only could receive the higher of the two. Just be aware of this if you are fighting for a higher rating as they can say oh you have headaches and we rated you 30% because of that and 20% for your knee both had pain so you can't get pain ontop of that.

Veterans (VA) Disability Benefits for Chronic Pain | CCK Law (cck-law.com) VA Depression Secondary to Chronic Pain Rating: What You Need to Know (vaclaimsinsider.com) Here are a couple of articles on how the VA rates chronic pain. https://www.va.gov/vetapp10/files1/1003690.txt Here is a rating given to a vet for chronic pain

Below is the response from the ASKVA system. My question is now that they are waiting to send a copy of the contents of my folder. How long does this take? Also I had to fight them for so long to get this Videoconference removed. This is just a a claim for EED and they have all the evidence they needed. I canceled this thing 5 times and had to fax a letter to the BVA and send this in to get it removed. We will see how much longer this now takes. Currently at 570 days. Thank you for your inquiry of January 21, 2023, concerning your appeal, which was submitted via the Department of Veterans Affairs Ask VA (AVA), and was received at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. The Board notes your concerns about your request to withdraw your Videoconference Hearing, a copy of your request has been added to your file and I have forwarded a copy of your correspondence to the appropriate representative, for review and action. It appears that it has been complied with. Your appeal was received at the Board on March 16, 2021. The appellate files were sent to your representative, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the US, for review and submission of additional written arguments on your behalf. When this review is completed, the appeals will be returned to the Board for consideration. The Board, as required by law, will consider the appeals according to their place on the docket. Your Legacy appeal was received at the Board on June 4, 2021. The case is awaiting review by a Veterans law Judge. The Board, as required by law, will consider the appeal according to its place on the docket. Subsequently, the Board received a request for a copy of the contents of your claims folder. That request is currently under review by the Board's Privacy Act Officer for review and response. Once this action is complete, the Board will consider your appeal according to its place on the docket. You may log in to www.va.gov/claim-or-appeal-status/ or call VA’s Status Line at 1-800-827-1000 to obtain a status update on the appeals. Sincerely, Office of Litigation & Customer Support Board of Veterans’ Appeals

If I am reading this correctly, you just got done at the BVA? If so, the decision still has to come back to the RO and the VRO has to do what the remand says to do. If there is an award then they should put that in, but in my experience, they wait until they have done the remand then do both. As doing the remand could cause another grant. When I did mine, they can back with 4 grants 2 remands 1 denial. they fixed the remands and i got 6 grants. Which is good, but it took another 6 months. if it is giving you a deadline, then you need to send in what is asked for. Do not give them a reason to deny it. You have to wait until these decisions are in before you can appeal to the next court. The process sucks but keep fighting and you will get there.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) VA Ratings The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rates irritable bowel syndrome under 38 CFR § 4.114, diagnostic code 7319 for Irritable Colon Syndrome. VA disability ratings for IBS range from 0 to 10 to 30 percent, depending on the severity of symptoms. The criteria for each VA IBS rating are as follows: 0 percent (noncompensable) – VA assigns veterans a 0 percent rating if they exhibit mild symptoms of IBS, such as “disturbances of bowel function with occasional episodes of abdominal distress.” Although this rating is noncompensable, veterans may still qualify for other VA benefits, such as VA health care. 10 percent – VA assigns veterans a 10 percent rating if they exhibit moderate symptoms of IBS, such as “frequent episodes of bowel disturbance with abdominal distress.” Examples of bowel disturbance include episodes of diarrhea, severe gas, and bloating. 30 percent – VA assigns veterans a 30 percent rating, the highest rating for IBS, if they exhibit severe symptoms, such as “diarrhea, or alternating diarrhea and constipation, with more or less constant abdominal distress.” To receive this rating, veterans must show that their IBS causes them to be almost constantly in pain. This is an appropriate rating for veterans with daily IBS episodes. Severity and frequency of IBS symptoms vary from person to person, so veterans should always report their symptoms to VA. Irritable bowel syndrome can be severe at times and then disappear completely at other times, so it is important to clearly outline symptoms and frequency of episodes when applying for service connection or an increased rating. fecal incontinence The VA disability ratings for bowel incontinence are tiered at 0%, 10%, 30%, 60%, and 100%. This disability rating is defined under VA diagnostic code 7332 which outlines the rating required for disabilities of the rectum, anus, and sphincter. The VA issues a disability rating to determine the extent to which a disorder impacts a veteran’s ability to function. The rating is higher if the veteran suffers from chronic complications due to the disability, and it is lower if the conditions are intermittent. The VA allocates the below ratings for bowel incontinence: 0% rating if you have slight impairment of the rectum, anus, and sphincter but no leakage. 10% rating if you experience continuous but low or intermittent moderate leakage. 30% rating if you need to wear a pad because you experience reflexive bowel movements. 60% rating if you have substantial leakage and sufficiently frequent reflexive bowel movements. 100% rating if you completely lose control of your sphincter muscles. https://www.va.gov/vetapp07/files2/0717227.txt here is one where the veteran did have both rated. I would say go for both. They seem to be different