Sgt. Wilky

You can just upload a 4138 or call in to the National Call center (800-827-1000) and tell them. There shouldn't have been a request for it, anyway- if you haven't worked since 1999 its irrelevant. In any case, a claim cannot be denied solely on the lack of returned 4192's, we receive far fewer back than are sent. 

Back in 2017 I too got the dreaded "Proposal to Reduce" ratings letter. It immediately sent me into a tizzy and I googled searched, came here to Hadit, and immediately got into contact with my VSO. At that point in time I was 70%, but what that process did was expose the fact that VA "...mistakenly sent the letter..." and I was told it shouldn't have been sent. But I'm sure had I not made a huge stink (including referrencing the CFR rules that prohibited such a move), they still would have reduced me.
I agree that vets need to educate themselves to a degree that they at least know how and to whom to respond/ask if an issue comes up. Pretending like we are not responsible for the outcomes in these scenarios is flat-out wrong (I'm almost positive there are many vets who do this, then scream and howl at the moon about it). We have to be on guard about these. We also though must be very out-spoken against anyone who is playing the "something for nothing" game if it is found out and proved to be the case.
All-in-all, the letter ended up doing the exact opposite of its intent, I am now 100% P&T, thanks to my VSO, doctors, and BVA judge who helped me through that debacle (and a hearty thank you to all the help here on Hadit)!
Semper Fi,
Sgt. Wilky

Its been brought to my attention that there is a need for cash assistance for needy Vets.  
My county and state has a special cash assistance program for needy Vets.  I can not vouche for other counties or states.  Having been down this very hard road in the past, I get it.  VA loves to delay our benefits for months or years, and Veterans need money now to pay bills and keep their home.  
I lost my home, to foreclosure in 2005-2006, while waiting on VA benefits, which finally arrived "too little too late" to save my home.  
What I learned:
1.  Apply for pension from VA, (ASAP)  while waiting on compensation.  Yea, the VA is supposed to consider a claim for pension, when you apply for disability compensation, but, they obviously did not do that for me.  Dont count on VA to do that for you.  Instead, apply for pension, sooner rather than later.  Its a needs based plan, and, if you have little or no work/income, and have served in wartime, you should qualify.   Your VSO may "expect" you to know the differences between compensation and VA pension, but I certainly did not.  So, he/she may not suggest applying for pension, even if you are otherwise eligible and in desperate need, like I was.  
https://www.va.gov/find-forms/about-form-21p-527ez/#:~:text=Use VA Form 21P-527EZ,to file a pension claim.
2.  Also apply for Social Security.  There are also needs based programs here, such as SSI, and social security disability, which may help.  
https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/.       or. https://www.ssa.gov/applyfordisability/
3.  GO to your local VA medical center, and tell 3 "or more"  different VA employees you are about to be homeless, and need help bad, because half of them wont know where to send you for help either.    Maybe one of these can direct you to the right place.  VA's homeless assistance programs are a closely guarded secret, and they dont tell employees about them either, out of fear too many homeless Vets will need assistance.  
4.  Go to your state or county Veterans services, Ask them for assistance.  My State and county generally will pay electric/water/gas bills in arrears to keep them from being shut off, and will often also give you a $100 Kroger gift card (not good for alcohol, or cigarettes) to tide you over.  Your state or county is probably different.  
5.  BEWARE of pension poachers.  "Pension Poachers" are attorneys and other "advisors" who "apply for pension for you" for a percent of the money.  You dont need an attorney to apply for pension, if eligible, you should get it by just applying at the VA or use a VSO which costs nothing.   Dont pay for someone to help you apply for pension.  
6.  Dont abuse the system.  Dont lie about your income or circumstances.  Dont exaggerate your disabilities or needs.  These lies will come
back to haunt you, and could prevent you from getting money you do need and deserve.  Truly needy Veterans need these benefits.  JUST tell the truth, 100 percent of the time, get the help you need while waiting on VA, then move on.  Lastly, appeal if VA or social security denies you.  Mostly, its not your fault, the system is set up to delay and deny.  
 

I talked with the hotline and they made notes, I uploaded a form directly to my file and my lawyer has also made notes. I'm confident nothing will happen through the VA against the examiner because they are doing what the VA wants. I went a little into the private sector and filed a claim with the Better Business Bureau against there practice as well. If anything it will give them a negative mark. I'm ready for whatever they throw at me. 

Riplip,
This exact thing happened to me on at least three occasions. My C&P exams were always with the same NP and I knew by the second C&P exam how it was going to be with him. No matter what medical records I brought with me, no matter what I said, he was going to write up a bad review. By the third time, I even told him I knew he was going to screw me over, but that I had won and will win the next appeal and that I'll keep fighting. He didn't say anything to me about it. I saw the VA's NP and raised them with a rheumatologist, neurologist, and a GP.
The truth is, there are examiners like that. I'm still convinced that there are meetings that take place in the "C&P world" that encourage the examiners to one degree or another to give exams like that. I can't explain it, but I'll never be convinced otherwise because I experienced it myself. 
Regardless, you file the appeal, do what @brokensoldier244th said and you continue the fight. I will say that over the last few years it seems to me the VA has loosened up with some of these tactics, but who knows? I was forthright with the BVA judges I sat before and even had one apologize to me for the mess the examiner made of my file. It was worth the fight to hear that.
Semper Fi,
Sgt. Wilky

Riplip,
This exact thing happened to me on at least three occasions. My C&P exams were always with the same NP and I knew by the second C&P exam how it was going to be with him. No matter what medical records I brought with me, no matter what I said, he was going to write up a bad review. By the third time, I even told him I knew he was going to screw me over, but that I had won and will win the next appeal and that I'll keep fighting. He didn't say anything to me about it. I saw the VA's NP and raised them with a rheumatologist, neurologist, and a GP.
The truth is, there are examiners like that. I'm still convinced that there are meetings that take place in the "C&P world" that encourage the examiners to one degree or another to give exams like that. I can't explain it, but I'll never be convinced otherwise because I experienced it myself. 
Regardless, you file the appeal, do what @brokensoldier244th said and you continue the fight. I will say that over the last few years it seems to me the VA has loosened up with some of these tactics, but who knows? I was forthright with the BVA judges I sat before and even had one apologize to me for the mess the examiner made of my file. It was worth the fight to hear that.
Semper Fi,
Sgt. Wilky

Yes, I did not update this particular thread, perhaps I mentioned it somewhere else. The judge did allow my wife to attend the hearing and she sat next to me in our office space and answered the questions the judge had for her. I was subsequently given 70%, increased from 50% in the summer of 2021 and received my back pay for that particular issue by September of that same year.
Since losing our 15 y/o son last year (a year ago 7/12) at home (he literally died in my arms from a brain aneurysm we knew he had) I have struggled greatly with all sorts of manifestations of PTSD. It's been a terrible ride of immersion in my memories, living a constant nightmare of military and civilian PTSD episodes that now seem to grow stronger by the day. Not sure how much longer I can keep this up.
Semper Fi,
Sgt. Wilky

This is late in the response. The answers is yes. I did one last year and they let my spouse sit in on it and give her opinion. 

I had one! Now I will have one at the VA hospital 

I know this thread might be a bit dusty, but I couldn't resist sharing my own experience with a PTSD claim exam via video conference. Back in the day, I had a PTSD claim exam via video conference. It was quite nerve-wracking, but my spouse was there for support, and they allowed it! Gotta admit these video conferences can have their surprises! But hey, it's all part of the process, right? By the way, if you're looking for a reliable video conferencing app, I used Cloud Softphone, and it was helpful. So, give it a shot if you ever need one. Good luck, and I hope all of you had successful exams!

I lost my job due to my service connected injuries. I was in the middle of a separate BVA hearing when I told the judge I hadn't been working for three months. She basically stopped the proceedings and asked me why I hadn't been working. I told her because my bones and back hurt so bad I couldn't carry the gear anymore. She asked me several more questions, and then three months went by and the court awarded me 90% P&T. Not only did the court grant my request, but granted an "inferred" claim.
I'm saying all that to say, you need to let the VA know that you've lost your job due to your service connected injuries. I don't know the process to file such a claim as I didn't have to go through it, but others can chime in on this and let you know what you need to do. If you have a VSO, get the VSO involved ASAP!
EDIT: @brokensoldier244th reminded me, it was IU the BVA judge put me in for, not P&T. Although the P&T came shortly after being granted 90% with IU.
Semper Fi,
Sgt. Wilky

Sgt.
 
                 I agree. It depends on the patient and the doctor.  The pendulum has swinged the other way from handing them out like candy to being so stingy that vets and others suffer needlessly.  It is easy to get hooked on pills if you have chronic pain like I do.  VA comes up with alternative treatments but nothing works like narcotics to treat pain.  It is too bad because if you use narcotics you have to increase the dose over time and doctors won't do that often.  If you take the same dose more than a few weeks you will need more to get the same relief.

Sgt.
 When I first started using the VA for pain management they were handing out dope like candy.  I got oxycodone and morphine which was really too much for me.  The morphine was awful since it turned my bowels into concrete.  Now they attempt to cut down my small dose of oxycodone every time I see them.  They go from one extreme to another. 

...and give out as much/many benefits as possible. This was by the training leader who used to work in Office of Field Operations.
While it seems sometimes that the VA is an antagonistic agency, there are those of us within it that do believe in what we do and TRY in our own small ways to get things moving, or out to the veteran. This meeting/training yesterday was a multi-RO level collaborative and continuing training/update for PACT Act and MST. We have it about every month or 2 to keep track of internal or external guidance changes for (mostly) PACT claims review and rating. This call had everyone from Asst directors (RO level), coaches, RVSRs, Authorizers, and peons like me on it. 
The mentality of the VA is not completely against veterans, although in individual decisions at a micro level it can seem that way, especially when magnified by the internet. Negative decisions for veterans, or VA f*ck ups from years ago are constantly brought to the foreground via forum searches or internet searches, and unless someone is prepared to do some digging and cross-referencing, at the top-level everything reads as 'current' information.
Many times it isn't, or prior negative decisions were based on older regulations since changed, and/or VA screwups (exam scheduling, documents shredding) are brought up from years ago, and made seemingly current. 
Am I blanket apologizing? Hell no, I know the VA screws up- its the basis of my job for the last several months to review specific claims that were denied 2,3,4 times from years ago, and I'm still finding claims that I get overturned. But still, I guess I posted this so that you all can see that there are pockets within the VA where people are trying to do right by veterans. Its part of why I applied to work there 3 yrs ago- I could get as much or more done 'inside' than from just helping people prepare claims on the 'outside'. 
 

I believe the pendulum has swung to far too the other side with hospitals and clinic prescribing almost zero narcotics. Hundreds of thousands of people are in tremendous pain because there's this narrative (and I believe it's asinine) that people on narcotics are deemed to be inevitable drug addicts. I'm not addicted to narcotics, I'm addicted to not wanting to be in pain. Are there addicts? Yes. Do they need to be restricted? Absolutely. But to assume that I'm an inevitable drug addict if I'm prescribed more than 3 oxy is a ridiculous and heinous assumption.
What's worse, being addicted to narcotics or blowing your brains out because of the pain? Being addicted to narcotics or seeking the street drugs? There needs to be a medium, it needs to be discovered and implemented, and that means doctors and nurses need to start paying attention to the needs of the patient. There has to be honest and forthright assessments happening.
Now I'm not a doctor or a nurse, and I'm not on narcotics. But I do know that I have several close friends who are on the verge of trying to find something from the news kids on the block to manage their pain, because of this shift in the medical community's attitude towards narcotics. It seems in order to save a few, they left behind a whole bunch. Just my experience, just my opinion, which could very well be wrong.
Semper Fi,
Sgt. Wilky
Edited for spelling and grammar.

Good morning,
I posted this a long time ago and will do it again. My local VSO sent these to me to as a sample for my doctors when it comes to writing letters for a nexus (link) letter from an event in service to a current a diagnosis. I've noticed several posts about this thing and thought it might be helpful to a few veterans.
Semper Fi,
Sgt. Wilky
NEXUS SAMPLE.PDF NEXUS SAMPLE #2.pdf

A secondary nexus is less complex than regular nexus.  You need not provide an "in service event" because that was already established in your back issue service connection.  
First of all, your nexus letter should include a CV detailing the (doctor's) education and experience in treating back conditions (or conditions related to back conditions).  Understand, this doctor is acting as an "expert witness" and if he lacks experience/training in the applicable field, then the nexus wont fly.  If your friend has a PHD (doctor's degree) in basketball, he cant opine on your back issues.  
After the CV, probably including the doctors medical license number, then your wording needs to be similar to "its at least as liklely as not that the Veteran's (secondary back condition) is due to the back injury suffered in service".  
You are not done yet.  The doctor needs to opine "why" he drew such a conclusion.  
The actual letter will likely be longer than this and include details of medical diagnosis, along with medical language you and I can not pronounce.  

Sgt. Wilky
I have seen both those letters before. (via someone else) As a matter a fact I think I use the No. 1 letter as an example for both my primary care MH and an independent MH person for a discharge up grade. Thanks' for sharing.

In Feb. 2023, hadit became a 501 C (3) organazation, according to the new owner, which we call "Rattler".  This means both individuals and companies can contribute to hadit and tax deduct those funds.  
This will be important to ensure that Veterans, years from now, can continue to get great advice on hadit.  
This is a very big deal for some even tho many/most of the disabled Vets on here "dont earn enough" to worry about taxes.  Its not about "me" its about the TEAM.  There is no "I" in TEAM.  
For details, please consult with your tax advisor or IRS: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/exemption-requirements-501c3-organizations
As usual, hadit members are not tax professionals, and companies/individuals who wish to contribute should consult their tax professional for the advice/applicability of tax donations.  

Yes, all it does it prolong everything. I'm sorry the VA is doing this to you. I don't know what to do, but I would appeal to the BVA and again, state in short, but detailed comments that the VA has doctor shopped this and your IMO from your PCP has been ignored. That right there is a violation of the "benefit of the doubt" rule and several others.
It doesn't help YOU, but in my case, I spent 12 years fighting through the system, and in 2015 when I FINALLY got to see the VA judge, he actually apologized to me for the wringer I and my family had been put through. The almost six-figure back pay kinda made it worth it though.
Don't give up, keep fighting the fight Brother. Semper Fi.
Sgt. Wilky

When they call you to set up your appointment, don't be a smart aleck (NOT saying you would or will, just don't), and kindly ask them what part of your claim this is for. You will then be able to prepare and get your ducks in a row. Under no circumstances should you miss your appointment, unless of course, it's for something serious. Do everything you can to make your appointment. When you get there, no matter how rude, disingenuous, or insincere they might seem to be, do not lash out or be a jerk. 
There are plenty of posts here about almost any condition you've claimed for so search in those posts to gain the benefit of others' experiences. Arm yourself with information so that you will be well-prepared for the exam. 
Best of wishes and Semper Fi,
Sgt. Wilky

When they call you to set up your appointment, don't be a smart aleck (NOT saying you would or will, just don't), and kindly ask them what part of your claim this is for. You will then be able to prepare and get your ducks in a row. Under no circumstances should you miss your appointment, unless of course, it's for something serious. Do everything you can to make your appointment. When you get there, no matter how rude, disingenuous, or insincere they might seem to be, do not lash out or be a jerk. 
There are plenty of posts here about almost any condition you've claimed for so search in those posts to gain the benefit of others' experiences. Arm yourself with information so that you will be well-prepared for the exam. 
Best of wishes and Semper Fi,
Sgt. Wilky

Yes you did! And without Hadit.com, I'd have never, NEVER gotten to where I am today. I wish there was more I could do to help. But I hope every one of us has a Merry Christmas.
Thank you, all of you, for what you have done.
"...good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."
Semper Fi,
Sgt. Wilky

Thank you, that answers my question, and in my claim, I'll try to remember to include that information for the "This is what happens when I don't have my medication".
Thank you much!

What happened to this post? This was good information to have.
Semper Fi,
Sgt. Wilky