RetiredVet

April 13, 2009

va sych increased my meds. va doc increased my pain meds. also got new walker from va doc. maybe th eva got a lot wrong years ago. ss said i have severe somatoform disorder due to pain. was on pain meds in militray and had depression due to pain back then. took lot of meds. given choice to retire or be put out.

locla sychs agree with ss. va sych seems to goes along with what a rating person at va said. cp sych said major depression. wife looked it up again. had to see two of them back then. two va sychs.

ss judge and sychs said i shoudl nto handle my own money but ss decided to finally keep putting it in our joint account since i neever use it anyway. maybe because wife has handeled the money for a loongest time anyway. but my wife had to be in charge of my daughters benefits. is why i try to get dav to help with things. when i need help. dav does nto help now.

so maybe that the va missed a lot about me in just a short time seeing me. got ss 6 maybe 8 months or less after getting va rating. they disagreed with va. did nto appeal va then because they va gave what dav said I shoudl get. dav won't even return my calls so i got a lawyer.

so maybe now i can get 100 % for just severe somatoform pain problem. ss rated me totally disabled for just this somatorform. ss judge said all he neededed was thta under ss. va sych see once or twice a year maybe 3 times. local sychs abotu every month or more. ss psych's had all the stuff form service medical records and frm va to the day they rated me. then maybe get separate rating for other sc problmes at va. then woudl be 190% if no increase. before using va tablets.

i think sometimes va peoples need a kick in their butts. can i say that here. mayeb we all get to see them agin and kick them in theire butt.

thank you all for letting me be hear. iget bad anger sometimes. have to careful. not going to have wife tyep for me any more. she does a lot all the times for me.

April 8, 2009

I sure hope you are right Carlie, 10 years of retro would be nice, very very very nice! B)

Not necessarily. I have bene told after 6 years that my P&T award was in error due to one line in the 3 page letter.

April 8, 2009

thanks for the reply berta i am going to find out what the psychiatrist put in my exam as soon as i get it in the mail. yes it was for c and p. he only said that he would put in his report that my depression was directly caused by the sc disabilities i have. and that i am a manic depressant...he also added he hoped that all of this would work in my favor ,and good luck! i will let you know what the report says if you are interested thanks so much also no i have not for for ssdi or anything else

My va psych just increased my meds. seems I may have severe somatoform disorder related to my service connect pain caused by my service connected conditions. pain causes depression and depression pain and then depression can cause pain in areas where there is nothign physicial but the pain is real. soemthign liek that i was told. so i have pain form what they knwo and pain form what they cannot find i guess. and the pain causes depression and the depression causes pain. guess it never ends. guess i have had so much pain for so long i do not know what is real or not real anymore. i just know it all hurts.

my wife looked this up later and foudn somethin gon the mayo clinic .com website about this. hold on i will get the link.

ok i foudn it.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pain-and-depression/AN01449

so i have bene diagnosed with dysthymic with major depression since back in the 90's and now it looks liek they may have changed that.

would have my wife type this but she is in bed. she types better. she always gets me in to see the doc when i get bad off and maybe she thinks i am having suicidal thoughts and maybe want to hurt someone. why would a vet want to hurt somone? the va benefits people treats us all great right?

i also got a new walker that is easier to use. my va doc got me a smaller walker. va psych asked me about ti and i tiold the psych the old one i was using it was hard to use and i had to have my wife help me with it. i still fall down sometimes though. i just didn't think about aksing the va doc for a new one. i kept forgetting to aks him.

psych wanted to talk to my wife also. va medical peopel have traeted me okay but those at the va benefits do not. i sent four letters for clothign allowance last year and i got that allowance for five years and they kept telling me they never got it. did the same with four nods a few years ago sent certified mail return recepipt and when I complained they did nothing. so i sent a form 9 and they ignored it also. no where else to complain after sending letter to head of the regional va. nothign was ever done. never got a soc or anything.

they just ignore nods. DAV was not help either. i can't even get a reply form them even when I leave messages. so now i got a lawyer. wife got the lawyer for me. i think we cna also prove because of this they are prejudice against me and retaliating.

oh well i have rambled enough.

take care everyone and i hope you get what you all deserve.

March 28, 2009

Wings,

You can scan the pages into your computer and email them to him or you can scan, print and fax the pages to his office

and he in turn will place his "Special Letter Head" on them and will fax them to the BVA or the AMC for you with a

friendly letter.

This veteran has asked me to fax these important papers to you , as she feels her copies are misplaced.

Hope this helps you.

Betty

Capt, Yes it is criminal. It is a disgrace. I sat as the AMC destroyed ever shred of evidence that I had.

I had to send and re-send. They were stupid enough to think that I was sending them the originals.

The R.O knew if I proved my claim there was a lot of back pay due me.

I fought them for 7 years straight to be heard.

I did succeed in receiving almost 17 years of back pay.

This is what the AMC also knows about Wings and others on the board.

Please don't anyone give up. You have to fight the way they do. Anyway you can.

Always,

Josephine
(Betty)

Isn't it apparent that the VA is still losing, destroying and/or just throwing away veteran's data. Same as they did last year and the year before and before etc?

If you notice I am now from N.C. Before it was Texas. I didn't want to confuse anyone that noticed the change. Next week maybe another state I have lived in or just like. I won't list the state I am really from on here. It is good to be able to move around without leaving the house.

March 28, 2009

no your case does not get decided any quicker BY USING A LAWYER HOPEFULLY IT GETS DECIDED BETTER!!

i just had a dro hearing back in february with my lawyer I'M still waiting after dro promised he would work on it real quick
UM HUM AND THE DEVIL HAS A DUNKIN DONUTS FRANCHISE IN HEAVEN

the va has a standard fee they pay to "all" lawyers IT IS 20% OF ANY VA MONEY OWED TO YOU THE VETERAN
AT THE TIME OF THE AWARD THE LAWYER IS PAID I BELIEVE DIRECT DEPOSIT TO HIM

LETS USE EXAMPLE OF A DRO HEARING WITH PRIVATE LAWYER HIRED BY VET BEFORE THE HEARING AT varo

you go to a dro hearing

so lets say you have retro issue the lawyer gets 20% of any retro IF YOU WIN

also at the dro hearing you have an smc issue the lawyer gets 20% of that IF YOU WIN

lets say also at the dro hearing you have a clothing allowance issue lawyer would get 20% of that

why a lawyer not the DAV or any NSO?

The VA is very clever at responding to veterans THEY KNOW YOUR BROKE, NOT A LAWYER AND THEY FIGURE IF YOU ARE SOME WHAT SMART YOU WILL GO WITH THE DAV OR SOME OTHER NSO GROUP

the VA responds to the Veteran using case law and federal case citation.

The DAV uses canned briefs and poorly trained quasi case workers.

The VA realizes vets have no money no lawyer so they are forced to accept an NSO or go it on their own . LIKE AT A CRAPS TABLE I SAY GOOD LUCK MIGHT WIN MIGHT NOT

when you have a good PRIVATE lawyer NOTICE I said a good private Lawyer hes going to write to the VA before the DRO hearing usually 1 month before

the lawyer will write a INDEPTH INVOLVED legal brief with legal opinion and case law THE VA MUST ANSWER THE LAWYER

NOW VA HAS TO GO DO LEGAL RESEARCH AS IN A LOT OF LEGAL RESEARCH DEPENDING ON HOW GOOD A LEGAL WRITER THE LAWYER TRULY IS

the VA right off is going to go and really HAVE TO hussle to answer the lawyer before the hearing or on the day of the hearing

most good lawyers can punch serious holes in the VA claims sytem WHY? BECAUSE ITS SCREWED UP AND VIOLATES VETS DUE PROCESS RIGHTS and win their clients an award

theirs an old saying in the legal system "ITS BETTER TO GET SOMETHING, THAN NOTHING"

i HAVE NOT SEEN ANY STATISTICS YET ON HOW THE PRIVATE LEGAL INDUSTRY IS DOING AGAINST VA

WHEN I GET THE RESULTS OF MY DRO HEARING I WILL POST THEM

THE LAWYER I USED WAS RECOMMENDED BY JIM STRICKLAND

BECAUSE I HAVE A COMPLEX MYRIAD OF ISSUES ACTUALLY ONLY A FEW WHERE DISCUSSED AT THE DRO HEARING BEFORE VA

IT WILL BE HARD TO DISCUSS HERE AND I WOULDNT DOUBT SOME VA EMPLOYEE'S VISIT THIS SITE

LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS

WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK HOPE I ANSWERED YOUR QUESTIONS OKAY

Yep, I got a lawyer. I think that is the best way to go.

March 27, 2009

It would be interesting to hear a little more background on this one ie......what you claimed, their denial, your response etc......

Also

Why did you get mad and file a writ? Was it because you got your cfile and saw this NOD or have you actively been pursuing the issue along the way? Just curious.

In response to your writ the Sec stated that the paper had been interperted as a claim for benefits. That is strange for they do not have such luxury. The court has ruled that even the most twisted response from a veteran (in an appeal) must be clarified.

As they did respond to the writ and say they "interperted" the document to be a claim for benefits then how did they explain that none had been awarded or denied based upon the document your submitted?

Yes this is going to take a one on one with your rep's involvement to unsnooker my friend.

Also this one is where that part starts. No wonder we need lawyers. But now we can use lawyers and teams of lawyers if we can get them.

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2006/jul...f/38cfr20.1.pdf

§ 19.26 Action by agency of original jurisdiction

on Notice of Disagreement.

When a Notice of Disagreement is

timely filed, the agency of original jurisdiction

must reexamine the claim

and determine if additional review or

development is warranted. When a Notice

of Disagreement is received following

a multiple-issue determination

and it is not clear which issue, or

issues, the claimant desires to appeal,

clarification sufficient to identify the

issue, or issues, being appealed should

be requested from the claimant or his

or her representative. If no preliminary

action is required, or when it is completed,

the agency of original jurisdiction

must prepare a Statement of the

Case pursuant to § 19.29 of this part, unless

the matter is resolved by granting

the benefits sought on appeal or the

Notice of Disagreement is withdrawn

by the appellant or his or her representative.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 7105(d)(1)

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2003/jul.../38cfr19.26.pdf

March 27, 2009

It would be interesting to hear a little more background on this one ie......what you claimed, their denial, your response etc......

Also

Why did you get mad and file a writ? Was it because you got your cfile and saw this NOD or have you actively been pursuing the issue along the way? Just curious.

In response to your writ the Sec stated that the paper had been interperted as a claim for benefits. That is strange for they do not have such luxury. The court has ruled that even the most twisted response from a veteran (in an appeal) must be clarified.

As they did respond to the writ and say they "interperted" the document to be a claim for benefits then how did they explain that none had been awarded or denied based upon the document your submitted?

Yes this is going to take a one on one with your rep's involvement to unsnooker my friend.

It is in 38 CFR. The VA never seems to follow laws, regulations or anythign else. The VA creates the backlog.

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/jul.../38cfr19.28.pdf

March 24, 2009

I'm trying to get a count of who here has claims
CURRENTLY at: BVA - AMC - CAVC.

carlie has claims at:
1) BVA and remanded to
2) AMC

Is anyone's appeal on the doorstep of any RO director, claims reviewer etc?

I saw that with AIG the people protesting what happened actually went to the homes of the people that worked for AIG. So why don't veteran's do that instead of just sending paperwork on top of more paperwork?

This seems to accomplish more than writing letters and getting letters back.

March 24, 2009

I filed a Notice of Disagreement on March 10, 2004. So far, it has been ignored. What can I do about
this? I complained to them and the RO said my NOD was "interpreted as a claim for benefits". However, that statement conflicts with the evidence:
1) ON my NOD which was recieved by the Regional Office, it has "appeals" circled on it by a VA employee (although I cant make out the Employees intitials)
2. I have never received any benefits (nor denied any benefits) with an effective date of March 10, 2004.
Any Advice? Can they just ignore my NOD or misinterpret it and get away with that?
Thanks

Concerning NOD's.

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx...38cfr19_00.html

No way we could know all of this. I get mixed up on what day or time it is.

March 24, 2009

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx...38cfrv1_08.html

Lot of material. My wife found this. But it may answer some questions or refer you to another law that answers the questions.

I doubt everything is here because there are also precedents for cases.

March 21, 2009

My humble apologies to St. Louis Vets, and, as Halos pointed out, St. Louis Vets deserve to have their Regional Office RANKED in the prestigious "bottom 12" of all VA Regional Offices, due to their shredding of Veterans claims.

My question would be "Are there any good Regional Office's?"

March 21, 2009

Berta is a living hero to Veterans. As far as I am concerned, Berta is family, and the VA retaliation on her is the same as them doing it to my family. That is, when they retaliate on Berta, they retaliate on all of us. We need to declare war on the VA for this retaliation. They have "bombed" our sister Berta, and we need to unite the same way we united when Japan bombed Pearl harbor.
Berta is one of us Veterans..giving up her hubby and children to these wars. Berta has already paid a big enough price.

That sums it up nicely.

March 21, 2009

Within hours after receipt of my evidence the AMC remanded the claim back to the BVA_ and never satiisfied the Sept remand conditions.

AGAIN my IMOS and other evidence remain unread and unacknowledged at all.Claim filed 6 YEARS ago.

I filed formal complaint but got the internal phone numbers to make waves too-

If the AMC is only a go between and remand back to the BVA what they do not work on- why are the tax payers paying salaries for the AMC raters?

I feel this was definitely retaliation for my testimony before the H VAC last week.

CBS wanted me to go on the Couric show the next night after the hearing- I wonder what the VA did to the widow and Iraq vet who were able to be on the show.

The dumb bastards- they even paid for me to go to a war college-
I will sure use those maneuver warfare tactics I learned to get this paper battle over once and for all.

They are continuing to disregard (and probably destroy) evidence!

Also read this.

http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?n...le&sid=3546

This is why it is good to be able to get lawyers now. Other than that I can only see people showing up at the door of the director of the veteran's affairs regional office that treated them so badly to get things done.

Or go by their kids school grounds and tell the kids "Hey so and so's daddy won't help the veterans" so their kids are also affected the same as the kids of veteran's.

Retaliation in whatever form is against federal law according to the Supreme Court and they won't just get fired or transferred for this.

March 21, 2009

So... just go ahead and see what they give me for these things then contact the DAV after my seperation? I'm just trying to get 30% for my discharge so i can qualify for retirement...

Get a copy of all your medical and dental records and board records. Two copies or more is better. I took mine and made copies of everything before I retired and faxed them to the VA through the county VA rep a month before I retired.

March 21, 2009

Within hours after receipt of my evidence the AMC remanded the claim back to the BVA_ and never satiisfied the Sept remand conditions.

AGAIN my IMOS and other evidence remain unread and unacknowledged at all.Claim filed 6 YEARS ago.

I filed formal complaint but got the internal phone numbers to make waves too-

If the AMC is only a go between and remand back to the BVA what they do not work on- why are the tax payers paying salaries for the AMC raters?

I feel this was definitely retaliation for my testimony before the H VAC last week.

CBS wanted me to go on the Couric show the next night after the hearing- I wonder what the VA did to the widow and Iraq vet who were able to be on the show.

The dumb bastards- they even paid for me to go to a war college-
I will sure use those maneuver warfare tactics I learned to get this paper battle over once and for all.

They are continuing to disregard (and probably destroy) evidence!

This is just not right. I am sorry the VA is treating you like this or treating anyone like this. I would also bring up your problem for you on the news if you wanted me to if I ever got on the news. I figure I have 4,5 or at most 6 years left and my family will get my VGLI insurance to live on. Because of this I also took out 3 other life insurance policies over the years.

When they messed with my family that did it for me. I know how bad I have gotten and my doctor's know. It is hard to even drink without my arm shaking while trying to put a bottle of coke or glass of water up to my mouth.

But even my C&P docs years ago, along with my local psychs and the SS psychs said I have severe mental disorders which started in the military (first treated for mental depression in military) and have been made worse with my physical problems (service connected also). I cannot pick up my daughter to hug her and I cannot bend to hug her. I spend 90 percent of my time in the house because of my problems and now my wife has been told to watch me closely.

My wife helps me dress and take a bath. She washes my hair. She takes care of all the bills and everything. Now it was her time to get something and the VA has stopped that without any official notice or reason. But I do have a lawyer working on that. Even though I had to sign the paperwork my wife got me the lawyer.

Does the VA think people will just sit by while the VA takes out their frustration on their family?

I would gladly go on CBS or any network. I have years worth of documentation I could give them and now even more documentation of what they do which viloates rules, regs and the law. But I would probably get lost in the conversation, but they could still use all the material. I doubt they want anyone with mental problems on their show.

If you get time and have someone I could contact at CBS or any other network or media let me know. PM me anytime. If this turns into a drawn out problem for me I will definitely be going to the media. Any media that will listen.

My wifes church group saw all those veterans in Texas marching and they thought about protesting my VA. I told her to wait and see what happens. I told her to give the VA a chance to straighten out their mistakes.

Has anyone ever gone to a local VA directors house and asked him or her personally about their case? I have thought about doing that also. Maybe that is what veteran's should start doing if this kind of stuff keeps happening. Maybe also start asking their family members why this person is not helping veterans and their families. Let their family know what it is like to be treated without dignity and respect. Or do a paparazzi and follow them all around and film what they do.Tit for tat.

If you do ever get on TV or in the media you should ask why they do not drug test these people. They should have random drug tests to ensure we are not being evaluated by raters on drugs (illegal or legal) or alcohol which can interfere with their decisions. The director and all of the people at the VBA should be drug and alcohol tested randomly.

I actually typed this without my wife doing it for me. I did a bunch of corrections and all so it should be readable now. I only messed up every other word and sentence. Took a long time, but I took breaks. Took a while to find spelling check also.

I told everyone I will wait to see what happens with my lawyer and the VA.

Veterans should never just fade away. They should go out as the warriors they were trained as and defending their rights, the rights of everyone in this great country and defending this great country to their last breath.

When I look at this board I see I am not alone and you are not alone either. Take care Berta.

March 18, 2009

Good evening,

This is my first post to this forum and i'm here because you seem like you know how to help people and possibly with enough research through this process i will be able to help others as well.

A little bit of history: US Army Infantry, CIB holder, Two deployments to Iraq totalling over 26 months, Four years and some change active duty, stoplossed, other various nonsense awards issued nowadays.

Recently I was rated by the VA at a 40% overall disability. 30% for PTSD and 10% for Tinnitus. All other claims were basically overlooked and given a 'Noncompensational Evaluation' of 0%. All of these injuries were documented while in the Military, however, and were included with my medical records as evidence. The other service connected disabilities I claimed and was diagnosed for are as follows:

-Degenerative Disc Disease Cervical Spine c5-6
-Degenerative Disc Disease Lumbosacral Spine L5-S1 with mild Thoracolumbar Levoscoliosis
-Bilateral Hallux Valgus and Pes Planus
-Osteoarthritis of left great toe
-Right Rotator Cuff tendonitis
-Right Patello-Femoral syndrome

Each of these have been proven as a service connection, but apparently I didn't cry enough for them during the C&P evaluation. What i need to know is how I should develop my plan. Should I send in 6 separate NOD's? Should I file Claims separately for each of these? I ETS'd september of last year, and under the good guidance of the VA staff on post, filed my claim before my ETS date, so as to expedite it. My question would be, If I file all of the paperwork, do I get another C&P evaluation? How long does this process take in years now that they think it's been 'settled'? Why did they overlook such evidence anyway, is this their effort to try to curtail their claim spending, or to weed out the truly injured from the people simply wanting money? I dont get it but it's fairly aggravating because ALL of the things that hurt right now physically got overlooked like i didn't even have them.

Anyway, all opinions, direction, comments, and advice are welcome, as I'm trying to formulate a strategy fairly quickly to fix this situation.

One last question, should i seek the help of a VA rep's office locally to help me fix this?

thanks,

AJ.

Get the DAV rep if you can.

My back is very messed up C-spine and L-spine and S-spine. I drag my left leg, but at least I still have one. It trips me sometimes and I fall down. Had a lot of cuts and bruises so far, but no broken bones when I fell. Pain in both legs, back and hips and I have to worry if it is something else or not such as PAD etc.

Pain in both shoulders, arms, hands, neck and chest. Severe headaches. Difficulty swallowing etc. VA has shown that when I do anything my blood pressure and pulse go up due to my pain increasing. After sitting for 5-10 minutes blood pressure starts to go down, but is still more than normal. I have a constant low level temp also around 100. Laying down and getting pressure off back helps the most.

I also have the arthritis and bone spurs. Narrowing of the foramina. Will I get it operated on? No chance since I had a doctor almost kill me with a an injection for back pain. Punctured lung, lung deflated, I left the pain clinic and never made it out of military hospital and I was told 15 minutes longer I would have been dead. Nightmares over this? Yes.

I have listed SC problems from my head to my toes. My medical record when I retired was an encyclopedia.

Now the VA wants to take away my P&T over one sentnce out of a three page award. I have lawyer. Lawyer says I have good case and he took it. Now just waiting.

Have had P&T for over 5 years and I am over 55, but that is a guideline in the VA regs. VA says 100% IU was correct though.

I never received anything official. Just 2 fax cover pages through my senator not even signed.

So never stop. If you disagree file a NOD or an appeal.

We can even protest outside the VA where this happened. Not many vets protest. Where my VA is they told my wife she does not need any permit and just go and protest as long as she does not block the road or a driveway. She has a lot of people that will do this with her and maybe more if she puts this in the newspapers.

The VA has now affected her and my daughters benefits. Not just mine.

March 18, 2009

What I am saying is this is what the VA stated on the denial report. Do I need to get the C&P report and read it. What I wrote on the NOD was I was in a military hospital for 4 months and that my depression started when because of my knee condition and pain kept me from getting jobs. And I stated when I did get a job because I did have a secrect clearance and was a security policeman, after 3 months on the job, I had to have major surgery on my knee and could not due the job anymore. I lost everything I had waiting on the VA and being denied and going through the Appeal process and not being able to hold a job because of my disability.

As I see it, to exacerbate, is to make worse, therefore, the knee makes your psych disorder worse. Clearly stated that it has been made worse by the doc. So the VA should rate this. The statement stating it exacerbated your mental illness means it made it worse.

This in itself connects your increased depression to the knee problem. Therefore you should have gotten an increase in rating.

Also alcohol abuse is very common among people with depression. It won't help the depression, but it does happen and any psych worth their degree knows this happens a lot with people that are mentally depressed. Even people that are depressed will quit taking their meds. I know because I have been told this by VA and other psychs.

I see doctors every month including VA doctors.

Always get a copy of your c-file. And read it or have someone else read it that understands it.

If in doubt always appeal. Every vet has the right to appeal. Appeal to the VBA and CVAC if necessary and then start over again if necessary.

It seems the VA does not want to rate psych evals any higher than they can get away with. I found that out when I was only rated 20% for depression. I have since found out it was much worse.

I no longer have anything good to say about the VBA. I do like the docs and I think they do what they should. Just some people in the VBA that are not docs are making the decisions. Some interpret decisions the way they want to interpret them and the way they feel that day etc.

They are not medical experts and I think they should not be making decisions on medical opinions. Should be a medical board making the rating decisions.

March 18, 2009

"But it does mean something when they do all of this after I complain to the VA about my yearly letter."

The VA was caught-last year- by failing to send these annual letters out in time for the vet to respond and they were proposing to reduce comp when the vet didn't respond in time-
to what they didnt get in time.

One more way the VA somehow finds the time ( with the extraordinary backlog of claims they should be working on)
to try to screw a vet out of something that is theirs.

I am glad you found a lawyer-
this is just unconscionable what they did here-and you are by no means alone in feeling despair and disgust over it.

But it will get straightened out.

Is your wife a Chapter 35 student yet or any of the children?

This could hold up their tuition reimbursement payments.

VA almost buggered my CHAMPVA in a similiar situation.

I just realized thinking about that- they could have also messed up my Chap 35 as I was student at that time too-
But I raised Hell and they fixed their error in 3 weeks.

That was a few years ago-the VA is even more messed up now.

If vets don't have PTSD before they file a claim I swear they might get it from the VA itself.

The annual letter I was talking about was not the letter to show I have not worked. It was the annual letter where they show your rating etc so you can use the letter for benefits. Not sure what they call that one. Anyway this letter you do not have to respond to, but since I saw an error I responded to it. They listed everything except the P&T.

I went beyond despair to pure hatred toward who did this. And I still want to know who did this.

My psych wants me on ambien to sleep and wants my wife to watch me closely and call them if she needs to. I told my psych I don't want to take any more meds because I already take three that have interactions and one of them I had been taking for about 10 years, well about a month ago I had a severe reaction to it.

I did get to leave a message with the DAV today. Person at DAV that answered the phone told me my regular person I asked for was not in his office and that she just had another vet looking for him. So I told her to let me leave a message and I would try to get up there this week. I still want a name of who decided this and to find out what the DAV guy says about all of this.

In the meantime I am going to let my lawyer do what he is going to do.

My local psych told me today (Tuesday) not to worry about it, but I do worry. My wife told me that because I see the two local psychs every month (PH.D's) and more often if needed and they have seen me for 10 or more years is probably why they told me not to worry.

I see my VA social worker about every 6 months to refill my meds. My VA social worker knows I see local psychs through my military retirement health program. I also made an appointment to see my VA social worker.

SS looked at all my VA records and decided that my mental condition alone was enough to evaluate me for SSDI. I have been on psych meds since before I retired. And I have a list of SC physical problems as well. Everyone knows how thorough the SS people are. They get their own evaluations for mental and physical.

I think if someone at the VA other than who did this takes a look they would decide otherwise unless someone there is mad at me. And to tell me a VA doctors written opinion is unacceptable makes all VA doctors opinions unacceptable the way I look at it. So that would make C&P exams unacceptable. And this VA doctor that wrote the statement about me not being able to work now or in the future has treated me since back in the 90's, so he knew me well. I wonder how the other VA doctors will feel when they hear this?

The VA probably thinks I won't appeal their P&T decision and just wait for the review in June as they call it. But it is going to be appealed.

When I called the VA for my c-file the guy took my info and then asked me which VA my c-file is at. I thought that was an odd question. I told him my c-file is there where he is and then he looked for it again I guess. He then said the DAV had it and since they had the file it may take longer for me to get a copy. Is he trying to cover up that they do not have it?

I have not told my lawyer this yet. But I will. I am glad I recorded this. So again it seems someone is doing something illegal. Maybe they lost my c-file? I did not post the entire recording on here, but I will send it to my lawyer. But this again seems to show someone at the VA got mad and this is possibly retribution. I have a copy of my c-file after my awards were given back in 2003.

I do not think they can justify rating me for less than what the doctors I have seen for years through tricare have said or SS.

So maybe my psych's are right. I should not worry about this. But I do and I do get very angry over this.

Thanks Berta for taking the time to reply. And thanks again to everyone that has replied.

Veteran's need to stick together over everything, even for the survivors rights and benefits of veteran's. To me a veteran and their family are just as important and deserve whatever we can each do to help them get it.

March 18, 2009

"But it does mean something when they do all of this after I complain to the VA about my yearly letter."

The VA was caught-last year- by failing to send these annual letters out in time for the vet to respond and they were proposing to reduce comp when the vet didn't respond in time-
to what they didnt get in time.

One more way the VA somehow finds the time ( with the extraordinary backlog of claims they should be working on)
to try to screw a vet out of something that is theirs.

I am glad you found a lawyer-
this is just unconscionable what they did here-and you are by no means alone in feeling despair and disgust over it.

But it will get straightened out.

Is your wife a Chapter 35 student yet or any of the children?

This could hold up their tuition reimbursement payments.

VA almost buggered my CHAMPVA in a similiar situation.

I just realized thinking about that- they could have also messed up my Chap 35 as I was student at that time too-
But I raised Hell and they fixed their error in 3 weeks.

That was a few years ago-the VA is even more messed up now.

If vets don't have PTSD before they file a claim I swear they might get it from the VA itself.

The annual letter I was talking about was not the letter to show I have not worked. It was the annual letter where they show your rating etc so you can use the letter for benefits. Not sure what they call that one. Anyway this letter you do not have to respond to, but since I saw an error I responded to it. They listed everything except the P&T.

I went beyond despair to pure hatred toward who did this. And I still want to know who did this.

My psych wants me on ambien to sleep and wants my wife to watch me closely and call them if she needs to. I told my psych I don't want to take any more meds because I already take three that have interactions and one of them I had been taking for about 10 years, well about a month ago I had a severe reaction to it.

I did get to leave a message with the DAV today. Person at DAV that answered the phone told me my regular person I asked for was not in his office and that she just had another vet looking for him. So I told her to let me leave a message and I would try to get up there this week. I still want a name of who decided this and to find out what the DAV guy says about all of this.

In the meantime I am going to let my lawyer do what he is going to do.

My psych told me today (Tuesday) not to worry about it, but I do worry. My wife told me that because I see the two local psychs every month (PH.D's) and more often if needed and they have seen me for 10 or more years is why they probably told me not to worry.