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tagandbag

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Everything posted by tagandbag

  1. After six years being on tdiu and no examinations during that period. I simply sent a letter asking to be permanent and total with no future exams. After a year or so I had another c&p exam, a few weeks later was awarded p&t with no future exams, retro back to 2009. t&b
  2. Stanner, I think going through iris is probably the best way to put a fire under your counsler arce. I have been dealing with voc-rehab going on two years, under the independent living plan and I have yet to see anything from them. I sort of forgot about the whole program for about a year. Reason being is I could never get hold of my counsler, every once in a while I would get a call or e-mail from him. Now all of a sudden I am dealing with an outside contractor, ( in the past month ) and he seems to be very proactive. Supposedly going to pay me for computer repair around 400 bucks, they made a appointment for a va dental evaluation, as I had some expensive peridontal work done in the past year and I wil try and get reimbursed for that, they might also spring for a greenhouse in my backyard among other things that I have showed intrest in. I do not get a monthly stipend from them, so my situation is slightly different from yours. All in all, I believe Voc_rehab is just under manned and very slow. I can tell you Iris does not like to hear about no results from your voc-rehab counsler. hope this helps and good luck. T&B
  3. I am enrolled in the ILP. They want to give me a new computer, laptop to be precise. The only thing I have to do, is take my computer to best buy or any retailer who sales puter's and get a diagnostic done. It has to show your computer is old and slow and it would be better to get a new one rather than upgrade one that is 5 or 6 years old. I need to jump on this, I would like to get one of those massager chairs, also. t&b
  4. A friend of mine just sent me an e-mail, stating that the VA rejected his application for benefits. He was never even given a claim number. I haven't seen the reasons for this. When I see the reasons I'll post them. I just have never heard of this before. t&b
  5. I am going to say if you have documentation of where you were stationed and look at the daily reports, you will prevail. The va, looked at the daily reports and verified all the rocket attacks and other hostile actions in deciding what they deemed, as stressors, as to my claim. You, need the proof/facts.. Go for it... t&b
  6. Thanks everyone for your prayers and concern. Right now I could say she has made a full recovery, she is back to her old self and bugging the crap out of me, lol. Which may be a good thing, as I am full of crap at times. navydoc2, I am glad you posted what you did. I have a little beef with our dentist. His dental hygenist told my wife at her last cleaning, that they don't prescribed antibiotics for cleaning, if you have a murmur. Apparently, there is some study out, that says it isn't necessary to give the antibiotics anymore. This was three months ago, her last cleaning. I have an appointment with my peridontist friday and will be discussing this with her, she knows the dentist and does not seem to keen on the guy. I may wind up getting an attorney. Also, I was talking with a podiatrist at the VA, who told me that they recieved a memo about antibiotics not being required. I told him thats bulls*#t and he looked at me sort of funny. But he knew I was serious. t&b
  7. My most positive thoughts are with you and your wife. I hope all is well soon. Thanks Bob, things are getting back to normal.
  8. Lawrence, I am having a hard time following what you are talking about exactly. If you want to work and are able to work, then voc-rehab will help you. Granted it takes a while for voc- rehab to kick in, after you have had all the interviews, maybe two or three. It took me about a year to get a answer on mine, which was the Independent Living. I have it but it's not going to do much for me at the moment. I pretty much could have gotten anything I wanted, but I am not that needy and I wasn't going to abuse or game it. I have talked to many a vet as to what they got from it, as to going back to work and it it was always a positive answer. Some of the vets have been enrolled several times, for retraining or continuing education to improve their chances for rehire or something better. The VA is overwhelmed with voc-rehab applications, because of the economy and vets coming back after their fulfilment to there branch of service. But, you need to be proactive if you want to utilize what voc-rehab has to offer. Best of luck to you my friend. t&b
  9. I would like to share with you all, something that happened to my wife around labor day. It shows things are not always what they seem. A few days before labor day my wife, started feeling ill sore throat, febrile, etc.. I take her to her primary, doc say's she is 99% sure that my wife has swin flu and prescribes TAMIFLU. the doc also took a swab to test for swine flu. Takes the first dose on Friday, Saturday she starts getting violently ill vomiting, numbness in hands, severe back pains, still febrile. Sunday morning she decides not to take any more TAMIFLU, I said she should call the doc and tell her that she stopped taking the TAMIFLU, that didn't happen. Monday, I wake up and find her on the couch in a manic state and rocking back and forth, I say thats it were going to the hospital, my wife did not want to go and had to get her brother and sister to intervene. Her brother is in a top position at one of the hospitals in the area ( this became relevant later). Ok, get her to emergency room, they put her on IV, antibiotics etc., do a lab workup. They initially thought maybe swine flu, but after the H1N1 test came back negative, that is ruled out. Then it started getting complicated, she was anemic, dehydrated still febrile. They were looking at kidney stones, gall bladder, liver and after almost a week in the hospital, still no diagnose. By Saturday she was feeling much better and the blood work was coming back normal and decided to take her off the antibiotics and pain meds for the back. They were going to release her Sunday. Early Sunday morning she woke up with 104 fever and severe back pain. Put her back on the IV'S. This is where her brother steps in and started talking with the infectious disease doc, who is supposed to be a genius. The doc starts asking if my wife has had any dental work recently, no she said, but did have a tooth ache a couple of weeks ago. Also, my wife has a heart murmur. This doctor finally put the dots together and found it was endocarditis. That means one of the valves had an infection cluster and was allowing the blood to flow back ino the heart. After everything was stabalized they released her on Tuesday. For the past month she has had a pick in her arm and has had to take a very stron antibiotic intraveneously for the past four weeks. She had the pick/stent taken out last Friday. Today she said this is the first day that she feels normal. By the way the doctors said she is very lucky that she had the back pain and came to the hospital, because most people do not have any symptoms with endocarditis until it is to late and wind up having surgery or worse. So the bottom line is if you have any type of heart condition, aside from high blood pressure. When you have your teeth cleaned, dental work of any kind, colonoscopy anything invasive you "need" to take antibiotics before the procedure. This is contrary to memo's and information that is going around at dental offices and some hospitals. I was trying to make this short as posibble, sorry. t&b
  10. My fear is from the immune boost SQUALENE rather than the vaccine itself. If it can be proven to me that squaline is not in the vaccine, I will get it. t&b
  11. A friend sent this to me and it is rather shocking. I'm not an alarmist, but I would read this before getting the vaccine, I'm having serious doubts about getting the shot. t&b Please read this or at least skim it all to the bottom and forward it widely. Help protect your friends and families from being damaged from this. Every person you send it to could be one life you save from a lifetime of pain and suffering. Also, please don't take my word for any of this but do your own research starting with the links to articles and video interviews from Doctors provided at the bottom of this email. The Doctors in the articles and videos are screaming from rooftops for people to avoid the non-FDA approved ingredient SQUALENE that will be in the swine flu shots as an immune booster. Squalene boosts the immune response of the vaccine so people will only need one shot instead of two, allowing twice as many people to be immunized. Squalene will only be in the shots and not in the nasal swine flu vaccine. Squalene has been proven to be what caused the Gulf War Syndrome from independent investigations. More on this in a minute but you must avoid this ingredient at all costs..... Before I say any more, also be aware that this vaccine booster is not being used in any of the swine flu vaccine trials going on currently but will be in the final vaccine given to the masses. Read more about this later in this email.... I have done a lot of reading and listening to concerned doctors about this topic. I'm just passing on what these doctors are saying. For starters they say don't buy the hype: Did you know that the swine flu is proving to cause less hospitalizations and less deaths than last years' seasonal flu! It is very, very over-hyped and not a big deal! Don't buy into the fear campaign. The doctors (5 male and 3 female) I list at the bottom of this email are begging people to not take the swine flu vaccine. These 8 doctors are just a few of the many concerned doctors. I'm not even going to talk about the full dose of Thimerosal (50% mercury by weight) that will be in the swine flu vaccine at 250 times the amount of mercury <http://thebirdflupandemic.com/archives/the-swine-flu-vaccine-contains-25000-times-the-amount-of-mercury-that-is-considered-safe> [LINK] <http://thebirdflupandemic.com/archives/the-swine-flu-vaccine-contains-25000-times-the-amount-of-mercury-that-is-considered-safe> that is considered safe if you were to have the mercury in your food or beverage. This alone is reason enough to not have your children take it. Why are so many doctors telling people to avoid the Swine flu vaccine? Because the swine flu vaccine will have the booster(adjuvant) SQUALENE which has been proven from independent studies to be what caused Gulf War syndrome from the Anthrax vaccine given to the troops during Gulf War I which the government had to admit had squalene in it after they were sued by the gulf war vets. Squalene has never been approved by the FDA but is being offered in the swine flu vaccine under "EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATIONS" not requiring the long clinical trials normally necessary. Squalene has also not been thoroughly tested for safety in Children or Pregnant Women. The FDA hasn't allowed it be used before because of the very justified concerns about it being too dangerous from animal testing. They're allowing it for the swine flu vaccine because of what they say are the special circumstances of this emergency and the need for a booster. Squalene allows people to gain immunity to the swine flu with only one shot instead of two so that twice as many doses of vaccine will be available. --25% of the 697,000 US military personnel got Gulf War Syndrome after getting the Anthrax vaccine. --25% of the troops that never left the U.S.A. but still received the Anthrax Vaccine containing squalene got Gulf War Syndrome! They didn't get Gulf War syndrome because they were in Iraq .......... The Gulf War Syndrome sufferers developed symptoms including arthritis, fibromyalgia, lymphadenopathy, rashes, photosensitive rashes, malar rashes, chronic fatigue, chronic headaches, abnormal body hair loss, non-healing skin lesions, aphthous ulcers, dizziness, weakness, memory loss, seizures, mood changes, neuropsychiatric problems, anti-thyroid effects, anaemia, elevated ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Raynaud’s phenomenon, Sjorgren’s syndrome, chronic diarrhea, night sweats and low-grade fevers.” <http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/08/04/Squalene-The-Swine-Flu-Vaccines-Dirty-Little-Secret-Exposed.aspx#_edn12> More about Squalene: Your body has squalene in every cell of your nervous system and brain. In fact, you can consume squalene in olive oil <http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/01/30/olive-oil-colon-cancer.aspx> and not only will your immune system recognize it, you will also reap the benefits of its antioxidant properties. The difference between “good” and “bad” squalene is the route by which it enters your body.Injection is an abnormal route of entry which incites your immune system to attack all the squalene in your body, not just the vaccine adjuvant. After injection of squalene your immune system will attempt to destroy the molecule wherever it finds it, including in places where it occurs naturally, and where it is vital to the health of your nervous system.< /font> Once your immune system creates antibodies to squalene it will attack the human body destroying the squalene in your nervous system and brain for the rest of your life. Proof Gulf War Vets were damaged from the squalene that was in the Anthrax vaccine: A test was developed to detect anti-squalene antibodies in GWS patients, and a clear link was established between the contaminated product and all the GWS sufferers who had been injected with the vaccine containing squalene. A study conducted at Tulane Medical School and published in the February 2000 issue of Experimental Molecular Pathology included these stunning statistics: “ … the substantial majority (95%) of overtly ill deployed GWS patients had antibodies to squalene. All (100%) GWS patients immunized for service in Desert Shield/Desert Storm who did not deploy, but had the same signs and symptoms as those who did deploy, had antibodies to squalene. In contrast, none (0%) of the deployed Persian Gulf veterans not showing signs and symptoms of GWS have antibodies to squalene. Neither patients with idiopathic autoimmune disease nor healthy controls had detectable serum antibodies to squalene. The majority of symptomatic GWS patients had serum antibodies to squalene.”[xi] <http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles...sed.aspx#_edn11> Link: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles...et-Exposed.aspx Their bodies are being attacked daily by the antibodies to squalene and this attack will never stop. You say: They're testing the swine flu vaccine.... But they're not testing it with ANY ADJUVANTS(boosters)! None of the current tests are being done with SQUALENE. NONE. This has been verified by Neurologist Dr. Blaylock. Here is a quote from Dr. Blaylock on his site: "There are 5 tests scheduled for safety before mass vaccinations will resume. I looked up on clinicaltrials.gov the actual studies being done. It is instructive to note that the only studies actually being done do not contain any adjuvant (the immune booster) either for babies or adults. Yet, when the mass vaccinations begin, the vaccines will have adjuvant added, possibly squalene." They're adding this booster to the final product after testing it pre-adjuvant. Plus the first rounds of the swine flu vaccine are coming out now in the form of a nasal vaccine. These nasal vaccines coming out first will NOT have squalene so people will think it's safe after no one gets injured but the shots will have it. Plus most of the symptoms caused by squalene are long term problems that won't show up immediately but will cause a lifetime of suffering. DO NOT GET THE SHOTS. It's not worth the risks for a flu that is no worse than the regular seasonal flu...... If you insist on getting the swine flu vaccine get the AstraZeneca nasal vaccine MedImmune because they don't have squalene. TO PROTECT YOURSELF from any flus or colds: A majority of the doctors below say to do one thing from new research that has come out the last couple years: They say to simpl y take 5,000 IU per day of Vitamin D3 for adults and 2000 IU of Vitamin D3 for children which can be bought at the grocery store. The FDA's RDA is way too low say these doctors. Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin. In the winter people get low vitamin D levels because their skin gets less sunshine, and low vitamin D levels are why people get sick more often in the winter. Building up your vitamin D levels has been proven to be more effective than a flu vaccine at preventing the flu! Link: http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller27.html Dr. Mercola(he runs the #1 most popular health newsletter), Dr. Blaylock(he is a retired neurologist), Dr. Rima Laibow(she runs another popular health newsletter), Dr. Anders Bruun Laursen, Dr. Kent Holtorf, Dr. Nass(she is a vaccine expert), Dr. Sherry Tenpenny(she runs the Vaccine Information Center), and Dr. Leonard Horowitz (author and public health expert) all are screaming from rooftops to stop people from harming themselves from the swine flu vaccine. Here are links to the research they are passing on to you that has been compiled on the dangers of squalene: ----YOUTUBE Video--- A MUST WATCH INTERVIEW--- Dr. Mercola Interviews Dr. Russel Blaylock on Swine Flu and the adjuvant Squalene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnaiubV Jv8E&feature=related ----YOUTUBE Video--- Interview with Dr. Rima Laibow: H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine Ingredients: Squalene Causes Gulf War Syndrome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wDMnrgLsuI ----GREAT Article about Squalene from Dr. Mercola's site: Squalene: The Swine Flu Vaccines Dirty Little Secret Exposed http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles...et-Exposed.aspx ----Great Article from Canada : Swine Flu Vaccine: A Public Health Experiment http://vran.org/in-the-news/swine-flu-vacc...eriment/#ref-15 ----Squalene in Minute Amounts Caused Horrible Autoimmune Disease in the Gulf War Military Vets- references the comments of Dr. Nass about squalene in H1N1 vaccine: http://autism-prevention.blogspot.com/2009...nts-caused.html ----Chapter 3 of the Book "Vaccine-A(anthrax vaccine) The Covert Government Experiment that's killing our Soldiers" by Gary Matsumoto This chapter is provided online for free to view. It talks about the history of squalene all the way back to the 1930's http://www.vaccine-a.com/excerpt.html ----What's the Danger of Swine Flu Vaccinations? By Dr. Anders Bruun Laursen http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18900.cfm ----Information about the harms of Squalene from Dr. Horowitz: http://www.fluscam.com/Squalene_Poison.html ----Reitired Neurologist and20now health truthseeker Dr. Blaylock's website: http://www.russellblaylockmd.com/ ----Dr. Tenpenny's Vaccine Information Center : Swine Flu Hype http://drtenpenny.com/swine_flu_hype.aspx ----Swine Flu Vaccine contains 25,000 times the amount of mercury considered safe by Dr. Kent Holtorf on Fox News: http://thebirdflupandemic.com/archives/the...considered-safe ----Avoid Flu Shots, Take Vitamin D Instead by Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller27.html
  12. Thanks for the tips everyone. Larry, I had been thinking about how you felt after getting your decision. I think I'm feeling just a sense of relief, more than anything. After not working for about two years and being at home most of the time and not being able to do a lot of things, because of being financially strapped. Now that I have a litle better income now, I really feel a pleasent sense of relief. Definitelly will be taking more road trips. The wife and I are going to start looking up in the north/central part of the state, for a fixer upper, with an acre or two. That will be my hobby. It will probably drive me nuts, but it will keep me busy. t&b
  13. Again, thank you all so much for your support. Hadit certainly helped me in many ways, while waiting on a decision. Today, is probably the first day in a two year period, where I don't give a crap what time the mail comes. Berta, a lot of my friends told me that I would get the benefits. Took me a long time to even file for a claim, I think I mulled it over for 3 or four years to file for ptsd. I used to have the mind set that I did not deserve these benefits, because I was not wounded physically. I do have to thank my attorney also, as he caight the DRO in a lie and I probably would still be at 50% if were not for him. Then I would be waiting on the BVA for an additional year or two and by that time I think I would have been a babbling idiot, lol. Larry, I'm not sure maybe a double wing nut. Cowgirl, I believe you are waiting on a decision and I'm rooting for you in the peanut gallery. Ithink you got your ssd around the same time I did and I believe that is a huge plus in iu decisions. Seems that is what put me over the top. Pete, thanks. I'm not going anywhere and if I can help a vet I will and if I can't, you and other members surley will. t&b t&b
  14. Pete, I understand all of what you say. I never intentionaly tried to bring politics to this forum. Someone pushed my button and I reacted. I can talk to anyone and not get into name calling, because I or them happen to disagree with something. Unfortunately, it caused a big ruckus and I apologize to this forum and board for posting those topics/posts. I'm sorry, but I just do not like being labeled as something I am not. I consider the case closed and just move along. Right now I would like to bask in the victory lane and not be chastized any more, for sticking up for myself. Pete, you are the bomb.. Keep up the good work. t&b
  15. Thanks everyone, I'll post some more later. Right now, I just want to relish the moment. I have not posted to much, or not posted at all lately because of some things that happened here on hadit. I am still upset about it, but that will pass. I just would like to say, I didn't think it was fair to be labled a right wing nut job, for disagreeing about something. I would like to put it to rest, period. God bless you all. t&b
  16. I recieved my IU award letter today and now just trying to realize that I finally won. Thanks to all. Thank you. t&b
  17. traiblazer, I'm not familiar with all these muscle conditions, but I'm going copy something, that you might be interested in looking at. Maybe someone wil chime in and give you more inf. Best I can do. t&b The first time I was scheduled for an EMG (Electromyography) I was terrified. I must say, my primary care physician did not help much. When I asked her what sort of test it was she explained that it is a test designed to discover the functionality of the muscles and nerves in the extremities of my body. She then volunteered "it's not exactly torture." That was not terribly helpful information, and I could have done without that last bit. So, for those of you who are wondering what an EMG is, and want to know exactly what will happen and what you will experience, I will provide a fairly simple explanation of the test, and share with you my experience while undergoing it. Your response may be slightly different from mine if you are more or less sensitive to stimulus than I am, but it should be fairly well with in the ballpark of my experience. That is unless you have some impairment in your nerves or muscles. If that is the case, then your experience may be far less uncomfortable. I will start by saying that from my perspective, having an Electromyograhpy/EMG is not painful. I found it to be uncomfortable, and more disconcerting than anything else. You begin by changing into a hospital gown so that your arms and legs are exposed (coming prepared with shorts and a t-shirt might get you out of the gorgeous gown if the tech is amenable). The test starts with something called as NCV (Nerve Conduction Velocity) test, which is performed in conjunction with the EMG. The NCV tests the speed of the conduction of electricity through a nerve. You will then lie down on a gurney or bed in the EMG Suite, and the tech will then place some electrodes on the back of one of your hands and circular clamps around two of your fingers. The clamps do not pinch. The EMG tech then measures the distance from the clamps to a certain point on the inside of your arm, and mark that spot with a pen. Then, using a device that looks like a large pager with two knobs sticking out on one end, he will touch your arm with the two knobs at the top of your wrist, where he had made the mark, and begin to send electricity into your arm. The pulses will be quite faint at first, and he will gradually increase the strength of the current until it comes to a very unpleasant level, and your hand is jumping up and down on the bed. It takes some time to get used to, but the beginning is by far the hardest. I found my self acclimating to the feeling of having lord knows how many volts pulsed through my wrist and hand. It also helped that the tech kept me talking and asked me very detailed and thought provoking questions that required me to concentrate on my answers and explain what I meant (these were questions unrelated to the test). This was a very efficient way of keeping me just a little bit distracted by what was happening. The NCV teat was performed on all four of my extremities, and then it was time for the EMG. At this point the attending EMG physician will come into the room and determine if and where you need to have the EMG determined. The decision will be made based on the results of the NCV. If there were some abnormalities in the responses of your nerves to the electric stimulus, more investigation will be warranted, and the EMG will be performed. (If everything checks out normal, you're done!) The EMG is a needle electrode that is inserted through the skin and into the muscle. It is used to detect electrical activity in the muscle. The needle is very thin, about the size of an acupuncture needle. If you are unfamiliar with acupuncture needles, think of it as being about the same diameter as a course hair. I had the EMG performed on my right arm and shoulder. The doctor moved the needle up and down in the muscle, and a static sound could be heard coming from the computer the electrode needle was connected to. This was the sound of my muscles firing up. The doctor then asked me to tense and relax certain muscles so she could see their response to the electrode. The needles were so small, all I really felt was a slightly sore sensation with a bit of pinching when I changed the tension in my muscles. On the whole, I found the EMG to be less uncomfortable and invasive than the NCV, and much shorter. The NCV took over an hour to perform, and the EMG was finished in about 10 minutes. Regardless of the uncomfortable sensation, the EMG/NCV is an extremely beneficial and informative test, and despite my apprehension, I am very pleased that I had it performed. One of the most satisfying things about the test is that the tech and attending physician can tell you their findings as you go along. There is no waiting for blood test results or for the radiologist to read the scan, it's just two people looking into a computer and telling you exactly what they are seeing. You will walk out of the test with information that will help you to diagnose or rule out what ever is going on to warrant the test. So, while my experience with the EMG test was not what I'd call fun, I will give some credence to the words of my former primary care physician. It wasn't exactly torture. In fact, it wasn't so bad at all.
  18. Is this doctor going to give you an NCV test, or are you going to the EMG doc just so your pcp can look at the notes for a letter? t&b
  19. I was told at one time, that my records were burned around 1976, after I sent an application to get my records. Years later I found that it was BS. Below is a list of the records that were burned. The losses to Federal military records collection included: 80% loss to records of U.S. Army personnel discharged November 1, 1912, to January 1, 1960[2] 75% loss to records of U.S. Air Force personnel discharged September 25, 1947, to January 1, 1964, with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.[2] Some U.S. Army Reserve personnel who performed their initial active duty for training in the late 1950s but who received final discharge as late as 1964. None of the records that were destroyed in the fire had had duplicate copies made, nor had they been copied to microfilm. No index of these records was made prior to the fire, and millions of records were on loan to the Veterans Administration at the time of the fire. This made it difficult to precisely determine which records were lost.[2]
  20. This is on of my biggest beefs with va health care, pill splitting. Co-pays are now $8.00, unles they went up. Your actually paying double for co-pays when you split pills, they should only charge $4.00 if you have to split the pill, The way I see it a pill is a pill is a pill, not a half of a pill. The money the VA save's is probably huge, by any means. In theory, I believe they are making 4 bucks on every vet monthly, whom split pills. Also, most of the prescriptions are generic ( where do the pills come from ), how accurate do you think each half of a pill, in it's dose. What if I have severe arthritis and can.t split pills, or blind or just don't give a crap and take the whole pill. It's free now so I have to take the good with the bad. Maybe we should let the va take over health care nationally and then everyone will be on the same playing field and we all could split pills. We could use like poker chips, I'll raise ya 4 splits for on of those big whole ones. Okayyy, now that I got that off my chest. I think I will go count my splits. t&b
  21. Cav, xanax ( benzodiazepines ) does not work the same as prozac, citalopram ( serotonin reuptake inhibitors/ssri's ). Xanax works quite rapidly where as ssri's take up to several weeks to work. Xanax is prescribe for panic attacks and anger generally. I used to take xanax back in the early 80's, because I was having urges of wanting to put my ex in between two oncoming semi's. They actually gave me a buzz, that I didn't care for. I take ssri's now because they do not give me that high feeling. Better for me. Hope this helps. t&b
  22. Cav, from what I have read @ the ss website. It works like this: You apply for ssdi and you are , lets say 60 yo. and SS awards your claim after 1 year. They wont penalize you for that year of waiting and not working, while your claim is being decided. Once your claim has been awarded, that will be the date of how they determine the amount you recieve, the same as retiring. If your on SSD and when you reach retirement, your SSD turns into retirement benefits at the same rate. If there is another anle to this, I am not aware of it. Phillip, I not trying to disagree with you. I'm going to go and check my ss statements, along with my awrd letter. Maybe, I have brain freeze or something. It isnt about who is wrong or right. If your friend recieved that. well thats great. I just don't understand it. I'll get back and post on this when I look at my info.
  23. Phillip, I don't think that is the case. Now, what could have happened is if his claim was a long drawn out affair. You don't lose your the credits for the years you were unable to work, while waiting for the claim to be decided. My ssd started when the claim was awarded and will remain the same till I retire at 66, except for Cola increases, if we ever get any more increases. If they awarded me what I would have earned, if I worked to 66, it would be another thousand or so a month. But , maybe there was an exception to your friend, if thats the case, I don't know what that would be. t&b When you reach full retirement age If you are receiving Social Security disability benefits, your disability benefits automatically convert to retirement benefits, but the amount remains the same. If you also receive a reduced widow(er)’s benefit, be sure to contact Social Security when you reach full retirement age so that we can make any necessary adjustment in your benefits
  24. This message is in response to your inquiry dated August 28, 2009. We do show your request for a DRO hearing. We are currently working on getting that hearing scheduled. The Appeals Team at our Winston-Salem Regional Office will contact you regarding this hearing. No SOC will be issued until after the DRO hearing. cannon, your VARO seems to be a lot more forthcoming with telling you about A DRO hearing, before the SOC is sent out. I requested a DRO hearing before any SOC, but I have gotten an SOC and a SSOC and still no DRO hearing. But, the SOC and SSOC were for a rating of 50% and 70% respectively. Still waiting on award letter for 70% and that has been almost two months. Its funny how every claim has it's own path through the VA maze. t&b
  25. POA, is just power of attorney and that is it. Definition " a written statement legally authorizing a person to act for another ". That being said, I never felt comfortable with a VSO, being my power of attorney, Now I have a lawyer as my POA for my claims and feel much more comfortable. But, I still have a pro-active role in what is going on. My experience with the FSVSO was anything but enlightening and totaly non-stimulating and just complete non participation in the claim, except for filing something that I had prepared and for them to send. The VSO have know monetary gain involved and there is probably a small amount of them that really are veteran advocates. I could be wrong, but it is my opinion. t&b
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