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PE1
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Posts posted by PE1
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I found out on my own. It's 8611 Neuritis.
Does anybody else have something similar? A Nurse Practitioner that used to work in a spine clinic where they saw alot of patients with back pain, said that she used to see alot of those "spots" on people.
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I saw the Dermatologist. After a skin biopsy was unremarkble for any one diagnosis. She said it was Notalgia Paresthetica. A large dark spot in left upper back. She asked if I had back problem and I do. x-rays of upper back show anterior osteophytes. x-rays and mri of lumbar spine shows L5-S1 IVDS. Anyway, got a steroid shot and doesn't help. She said nothing was going to help.
Well, do I claim it as a rash. But it's not a scar. Do I claim it as a Neuritis? But as a Neuritis it's not in a Nerve that's rated. It's along the left side of the upper back.
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Thank you very much.
That's exactly what I needed.
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Thank you. I just requested a copy through my public library.
So it's not for sale anywhere?
Just want to read it and see what else it says besides the worksheets.
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Amazon.com doesn't have one for sale.
Where can I get one to read it?
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Did you go through an MEB yet?
Do you have a Permanent Profile? Should be under the S in PULHES
If you went through an MEB already and were found Fit for Duty, then you are fit for duty within the limits of your profile. If your profile says no kevlar helmet, no ruckmarching, or no weapons training or no use of weapon, then you won't deploy to the middle east.
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If you get as far as the SRP, you can bring it up to the Dr that reviews your deployment packet. But if you don't deploy or can't deploy because of PTSD, then you need to go through an MEB.
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I've benn using the Combined Ratings Table. That's pretty accurate right?
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66% rounded up to 70% correct?
And the Dr is a Dr at the active duty clinic.
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What if you're retired after 20 years of active duty and have 50% for CRSC for lower extremity problems due to bad military parachute landing falls but can qualify for an additional 20% for CRDP but for a different condition like Diabetes?
Not asking for CRSC and CRDP for the same condition. Can you get CRSC for one thing plus CRDP for another?
Or, if you have 50% for a condition under CRSC, can you get the other conditions that are not combat related tax free? as if all of them are CRSC?
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One of the Doctors that I see says that the urinary frequency and IBS is due to my lower back IVDS. I thought it was due to a perforated appendectomy and a cholecystectomy 2 years later. If it's true, then the urinary frequency and IBS are secondary to IVDS.
Originally I thought I would get 20% for IVDS alone. And 40% for the urinary frequency and 30% for IBS would be by themselves. But now, will they be grouped? 20+40+30=90???? did I do it right?
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DDD of the C-spine could be service connected if the DDD of the L-spine is atributed to an injury, parachuting, or someother accident where you got hurt. You can says that you also injured your neck. But if it's just from running and ruckmarching, then I don't know. Maybe you could atributed to wearing kevlar helmets. You can also injure your neck doing sit ups. Plenty of people have herniated discs in their necks and lower back from sit ups. They pull to hard on the head as they go up. They have their hands interlaced behind the neck. Or, plenty of people have neck injuries from Combatives. They get thrown around or land hard and injure their neck.
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Thank you, if I get a nice Dr to write bed rest for what ever lenght of time, then will I have to show another slip next year for bed rest again? The rating is based on how many weeks total of bed rest in the past 12 months. So next year, do I have to show another slip?
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Does any body still prescribe bed rest for back pain? Bed rest for back pain is medicine from the 1980s. That makes rating IVDS very difficult for anyone. If the Dr is super nice and does what you ask him to do, then he'll actually prescribe bed rest but it's not good medicine.
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Well, then, it's only 10% for neck and 10% for lower back. A Physical Therapist did the goniometer measurement and it's only 10% for each. What about the T-spine?
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I was in a bad military parachute landing in 1993. I was on jump status for 6 years. I have x-rays and MRI of the neck, T-spine and L-spine. Have a large osteophyte in C-5, degenerative disc disease in C5-6, C-6-7 and C7-T1. Also have multiple anterior osteophytes along the T-spine. Finally, have degenerative discs in L4-5, and L5-S1.Have notes from physical therapists, Orthopedic Surgeons, Primary Care Providers and a Neurosurgeon. (if I go by the range of motion then it's only 10% for neck and 10% for lumbar spine. But if it's rated as 5003 then is it :
20% for the C-spine and
20% for the L-spine?
What happens to the T-spine.?
I don't have any bed rest in the past year.
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Can we tell them that the exam is not over yet? That you haven't done this or that, or that you haven't adress this complaint or that? Is there a patient advocate we can aproach that day? How about telling them before they make the appointment that you are going to need more than 20 minutes? Does the examiner hand write the findings or types them? Or do they click buttons on a screen like on active duty? Right now, on active duty, the examiners use an electronic exam sheet, except for the actual Physical Exam (retiring, separation....). For sick call it's now an electronic record. The electronic record is very fast if the examiners knows how to use it. But if they have to hand write it..... it will look like chicken scratches..... and then they write abreviations instead of spelling it out.
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Thank you very much, I have alot of work ahead.
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Is it ok to highlight with a yellow highligther important stuff in the service record before the C&P exam? I have alot of labs and x-rays but if I mark what's abnormal then maybe it won't go unnoticed. I would imagine that the examiner will find it easier to find pertinent information that supports my claim.
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Well, people with Sleep Apnea usually snore alot, snore loudly, but most importantly, they stop breathing in their sleep. Usually the wife tells them that they notice that they stop breathing in their sleep. Also, they are very sleepy during the day because they do not have refreshing sleep. They wake up with a headache because during the night, they suffered many episodes of low oxygen concentration in their blood. The feeling is similar to a hangover. Many people with sleep apnea have high blood pressure, a neck circumference of 17 inches or more, fall asleep easily during the day, but be careful. If you are very sleepy when you drive, you might loose your driver's license. Your first visit might be with a Pulmonologist. In the first visit you will be asked about your complaints and have a physical exam.
But, along time ago, there were very few sleep studies ordered. Nowadays, there are so many ordered, that you'll have to wait a long time between the initial visit and the sleep study. Many, many reasons why now there are some many sleep studies ordered. (If you need a CPAP machine you get 50%) Or, there is more awareness of the disease, better patient education, etc.
The sleep study is at night, you sleep in a sleep lab. There are cameras recording your sleep, a blood oxygenation monitor on your finger, and several wires stuck to your scalp. If you get diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, you get a prescription for a CPAP machine. It is a mask connected to a machine that keeps your airway open when you sleep. When people with sleep apnea first use a CPAP machine, they have a good night sleep. They wake up refreshed. Now, some people don't like, they say it doesn't work. But be careful, the machine has a small computer chip that records the number of hours that the machine was used. The Pulmonologist will pull out that card and connect it to his computer and if the machine was only operated for 4 hours in the past 6 months, then they write just that.
I hope this helps everyone.
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I'm intrested in reading the Diabetes Training Letter but can't find it. Can you point me in the right direction please?
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He's probably more familiar with using Effexor. The drug company doesn't pay him directly, specially if he's a government worker. The Government pays less for the drugs from the companies than the civilian community. So the drug companies don't make as much money from a government prescription. He would have to have stock in Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to make money from pushing Effexor. The drug rep could have been giving him pens with effexor on the pen or a clock with effexor written on it to smooch up to the dr. But I think there's a new law that says they can't take anything anymore into the clinics. No more pens or medicals books, not even donuts. They can only take, well, they should only take educational pamphlets.
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Wellbutrin SR 200 mg twice a day works really well. Controls my cravings for food, don't eat so much anymore. Don't get as angry either. Don't have rage which is great. Doesn't delay orgasms like Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft do to the point that you loose intrest. But I also don't have a history of seizures so it's safe for me.
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Maybe he's taking Effexor himself too.
Notalgia Paresthetica
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted
I guess I was right then.
I'm still active duty. I retire 31 August 2009 and have multiple entries atributing the spine injuries to bad military parachuting falls.