airborne18

He is not going to get vocrehab with ssdi... that is why i said it closes some options.. and yeah there are slam dunks with TDIU, just not with mental disorders. you can go check the stats for yourself.. like I said my paranoid ranints.. Read the cfr for IU, it clearly states the slam dunks.

My .02 and most of it is probably paranoid fantasies in my mind. I would not file for ssdi, you close options if you have ssdi.. I don't think the pysch letter will get you IU.. my opinion. Personally I think the VA has in in their minds that mental conditions can be treated and you will eventually improve. Or at least that is the policy of the VA and influences their rating decisions. The way you should try for IU is through migrainines and vertigo. Get a neurologist to sign off and you got a slam dunk for IU. The other thing you should do is try to get employment.. Whether it is with the census as a temp or Walmart.. try and get work.. even show up a few days. Who cares.. try and get past your problems. it will not hurt you,and will probably help. Enroll in Vocrehab.. try and improve yourself.. Besides it pays well. Build a case that you are trying.. as the VA wants you too.. It will not be held against you. After you get Vocrehab, do classes for a few semesters.. Then go to your neurologist.. .say you are trying vocrehab and having issues.. say you are going to file for IU, but you need help from him/her.. ask if their medical opinion suppports it... Then file for IU... If you are awarded IU you can always go back to work if you want, you can even do Vocrehab ( they actually encourage it, the vochrehab counslers don't ). If you get ssdi.. you close the working door, and vocrehab.. and trying to get work to help your IU claim my .02... keep in mind I am heavily medicated right now and just rambling....

purple, You are right it is not always true, but from what I see in the postings, mental health TDIU's have a high percentage rate of denial and delay. Yours probably had support from your treating doc at the VA, which is the critical factor for success.

My TDIU and all my claims were handled in a timely manner. I think with mental health issues, the VA doctors generally do not like to classify someone as unemployable, which kills the claim. Also the VA seems to take TDIU very seriously, and only approve it when they believe you will no longer improve or be able to work. Mental health professionals always look to improve your condition in the future. I am rated higher for Anxiety than anything else, yet my mental health issues were not considered for TDIU. You can see posting by posting that the mental health claims for TDIU take the longest and are denied at a high percentage rate. What did your mental health docs say in their reports about you?

Vista, That was a tens unit they gave him for his back, and they are worthless. Now that he is 50% his treatment at the VAMC will change. They will be more responsive. Just ask for a consult to pain management. All you have to do is ask and they will do it.. they won't always offer, but if you ask they will provide. Also ask if physical therapy will help. I would go through his medical records and sick call slips ( if he has his copies ).. just look all the back related records. I remember with my claim the issue of restricted or light duty was a factor. My wife filed my back claim as "back injury" which they eventually awarded as Chronic Back Sprain. You are not going to get much for the back, not without pain down the legs. But getting it service connected is worthwhile. His back will not improve with age, and when it does get bad, it causes alot of problems with affect legs and arms.. So there are alot of secondary claims for it as well. No you cannot do the GI bill and Vocrehab... Vocrehab is a better deal.. first, the VA pays for everything, books, tuition and any fees charged by the school. It is all paid for by the VA, at the school he picks. ( The counsler and him have to agree on the program..) Plus they give him 785 a month, and VA dental. It is one of the better VA programs. The key to vocrehab is that he picks his end result.. the career goal, and then they work back from that to figure out what education he needs.... So you have to make sure he wants a career that requires the education he wants to pursue ( get it?? this is a key point ).

Vista, congrats. you should feel good about what you did get. 50% or over. And he is eligible for Vocrehab ( The MH doc did you a favor by signing off on Vocrehab ). Your next move should be to file for Vocrehab and the 785.00 per month it pays. ( you can file for it using Vonapp on the va site ). When he goes in for the interview he should try hard to get accepted. ( ask for a letter from his psychiatrist to support him being accepted.) . Alot of people try not to get it, so they can use it as evidence that they cannot work, but that is a bad plan. TDIU.. if the doctor does not agree, you will lose. And sounds like the doctor does not agree. Though you could try filing for it while he is in Vocrehab. Since the doctor did say that after vocrehab he could work. He is now in priority group 1, so go to the VA hospital and get back your copays. Take the decision to the eligibilty desk, you also get travel money for any appointments going back the last 30 days.. not sure how far you live from the VAMC, so I am not sure if you qualify for travel ( i think you have to live over 50 miles ). also he will get appointments alot quicker.. For the back.. what treatment is the VA doing for the back?? and what specifically was his diagnosis in the military for the back.. (Mine was always back sprain, not spasms ). And was he ever given light duty for his back or on profile? Here is my suggestion for his back.. Schedule a follow-up appoitment for whoever is seeing him for his back at the VA. You go in with him.. And say that he has alot of pain in his back ( and it is radiating ). say this has been going on since he injured it in the service.. the military just blew him off and now it is getting worse.. Ask if they are sure it is just a muscle spasm or sprain? Since it seems to be getting worse. Make sure you underscore that the pain radiates, ( not sure if it does ). Ask if they can setup physical therapy for him. You can also ask for an MRI and ncv/emg.. but the problem with that is if they come back negative for anything serious. And also ask to see pain management to figure out a way to treat the pain ( the VA is touchy when it comes to treating pain for someone with depression. You really want pain shots in his back ). I would even express the concern that you don't want him on anyting for pain since his suffers from depression, so you would like shots. Build a case for the back. a very strong one. Get as much treatment from the VA as you can. And tell the doctor you are filing for the back, and need to know the exact diagnosis, and ask if the Doctor's report will help with the service connection ( You ask.. be real nice to the doctor during the visit.. let the doctor feel your frustration ). The physical therapy doctor will be the one that will help you the most with this, their evalutation of the back will help the most, as well as any orthapedic or neurologists. Always be nice to the VAMC people... express frustration and disgust with the VA, but not at the people. They can help you or not. Don't get angry or bad mouth them,.. ask nicely for their help, and they typically will. Refile for the back after you have at least a back diagnosis from the physical therapy doc. Get all of the reports on his back and then file a claim that is supported.. whether it is spasms, sprain or herniated disk.. When he has the C&P for the back.. you go in.. and you explain how you are doing his claims and got denied before, and take in the denial letter and your new claim and explain that you are frustrated that you don't understand how to file this so it does not get denied.. take the relevant parts of his SMR's.. the VA records.. and explain how his back first got injured and how it is progressively getting worst. Make the case. You don't need to lie. Also, now that he has a claim file, and it is developed.. the turn around time for claims will be quicker.. ( i have had them back in weeks. ). His rating for the depression does seem odd... 70% is the next level, and his GAF of 40 didn't help him with that. This is the rating that will get you to 100%, alot easier then filing for other conditions ( I assume you have seen the VA's combined rating math ).. Keep in mind that he can file for secondary conditions to this, there are alot of secondary issues to mental health problems.. high blood pressure, a whole host of digestive system issues. you can fight the 50%, but that will take forever. You might just want to see if he actually improves over the next year.. maybe the idea of going to school and getting vocrehab might help him. If he does not improve in the next year or so, then just have him go impatient for depression and then file for an increase. He should also try getting employment.. even if he does not find any, have him try. And even if he can get a job at walmart as a greater and then cannot do it, it is better than not trying. good luck

Blackbird, Didn't realize there were 2 threads on this.. just found this. The IMO is actually good. Your exit exam will not help you, it just documents what your medical history documents. My exit exam was not even considered for my service connection ( i had no problems on it ). The one problem you have with all this is that Degenerative Disc Disease is not something that just happens, it is a longterm issue. Though any condition aggrevated by the military is still service connected. I would get letters from your civilian job stating that when you left for active duty in october you were able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Also get letters from your spouse if you are married, or significant other. And any letters from anyone who can say you arrived from the exercise completly screwed up. ( the VA will take family letters and they will put wieght into them.. though not sure if they will for nexus, but for severity they will help ). It is a shame you didn't go on sick call while in Egypt, just one sick call slip would probably nail this for you. ( for my claim, my SMR's were basically destroyed, I had my own copy of 2 sick call slips, and that was it ). THe VA understands that active duty medical people do sleazy things.. like destroy medical records. You could easily have explained that you went to sick call and they blew you off, because you were NG. and that the only proof you have now is the people you worked with. What date were you on light duty?? Also you might want to ask on this board about the buddy letters. Email them to a few of the experts here for feedback.. The wording will matter.

Blackbird, I apologize if it sounded as if I was degrading NG service. My posting was not meant too. I was just trying to explain how the VA will treat it from the point of nexus. I was in the Reserves myself for a bit after I ets'd from active duty. The National Guard and Reserves are honorable ways to serve, and have been a vital part of National Defense starting with the Revolution. And I believe you deserve your VA benefits. The problem is not your duty status at the time of your injury. Though it does make a difference. It is that you have to prove the injury actually occured.. that is your problem. I would try to get buddy letters from anyone you talked to in your unit. Did you complain about it or mention it to anyone after it happened? I understand nobody saw it happen, but did you mention it, even in passing to anyone? It will help your case.. I am trying to be helpful with this, and just want you to be as ready as you can for this. Hopefully the DAV rep is right. I have been searching the BVA decisions as well. I will post anything I find that is helpful.

Blackbird, The issue you have is proving nexus. Since you are NG, you need direct proof that your back was injured while on duty. The main difference between NG and Active duty are medical benefits. Active duty personel are covered by the military 24x7 from swear in to ets. Whether the injury occurs on duty or off duty, it is service connected. ( A guy in my unit lost his leg water skiing, the boat turned and the prop got his leg. he was medically discharged with disability. ). NG are only covered during duty time. Without actual proof of an on duty accident and medical treatment, it will be a tough fight with the VA. The burden of proof is 100% on you. You have the after service medical treatment timeline covered, but you fall short on the military side. The VA can just as easily assume you were injured on civilian time. Which they will assume since your treatment starts after your deployment. Seeing a doctor on 12/11 is weeks after you injured it, and that is going to be a major issue. That will time the injury after you returned. Even if you had a sick call visit they would still assert it was a civilian issue, but at least you would have something to fight with. I would talk to the DAV rep and ask him or her if the appeals manager was aware that you were NG when the person said an IMO was probably all that is needed. I generally trust the DAV nso's and they usually have a good relationship with the VA personel. If you were active duty an IMO would work for this.. so maybe it will work for you. I am not trying to sound overly negative. My service connection is for a back injury and I have been down this road with the VA. You can look on the VA site and search BVA decisions to see if there is a case similiar to yours. Rentalguy has laid it out well, and if you were active duty you would probably be gold with the IMO. But NG is going to be the issue.

congrats

Blackbird, Were you active duty or NG when you had the surgery? Were you activated when the accident happened or on drill?

congrats...

you will get back all the money put out for service connected meds, and if you have seen any private docs for service connected conditions, the VA will pay you back. If his rating is over 50%, the VA will return all money paid for all meds, and any copays.

Pete, I think for a vet to be on fast track, the claim is initiated before they ETS, and the claim and files are handed to the VA before they ets.. One of the big delay's with claims like this one is the wait for the actual records from the Military, which can take months for no reason.

ditto on the total opposite effect.. I was prescribed this to help me sleep.. was a side effect.. that didn't work for me either..