retiredat44

last month, I went to the regional VA (San Diego) office in Mission valley to several offices there, including the benefits office, I filled out forms, and showed ID... I still could not get into the pages on my health vet website. I can see my precriptions, and order new ones, but not much else.. I went to the VA Hosptial and went tot he library, and asked them.. they had no clue.. I filled out another for and showed ID. They sai dthey had no clue about E-benefits and told me to go to ther regional office. I told them I was there 2x last month and fille dout the paperwork.. this lady then grilled me and wanted to know which floow I went to and who I spoke to.. She treated me like I am a moron thwe whole time.. I have been working with computer when she was in diappears, and one of my degrees in is computer engineering.. I shake and so maybe she thinks I am frakkin stupid! I am really sick off going to the offices and filling out papaers. the E-Benefits site only gives erros and BS... Just sayin' I also did some calling to some of the phone numbers last month and al the happened was the POS phone rang each day I tried for several days with no answer.. i tried different times each day.. for a few days.. what a clusterf####

what's up with the pins, tuning fork, etc, during these tests? I do understand they ask if you can feel it.. but I don't understand what good it does if you can see them place it there, anyone can say they don't feel it.. also, I have edema with leg and feet swelling (long with tons of pain..) of course they never see when the muscles twist my toes like pretzels... that is very painful and can last up to 15 minutes of twisting,, but that doesn't happen when I am in their office.. but they have seen most of the other stuff happen because I was an in patient for that 6 months and had a long period of physical therapy.. and serious blood pressure problems too.. anayways, back tot he pins/ needles, and tuning fork.. what's up with that stuff? also they bend my toes and ask me which way they are bending.. but you can look down and see them beind it.. I can't remember if they say look forward..

I have had the tests several times.. I am now awaiting the last exam results.. hopefully within 60 days.. my problems are complicated.. (please don't take this the wrong way anyone.. it's just that I have mutiple problems.. which are all rolled into a clusterF###)

my VSO said don't pile on any more claims until mine are decided, he said they will just add it tot he pile and start over..

any updates from those on appeals, NOD, etc? I had my C&P exams last month,,, 60 days will be the end of September 2010..

I would like to chat with you and share my fuel exposure info with you.. thanx..

I want to say I don't have diabetes, but I chmiend in because while I have pancreatic disease and also have had some symptoms of diabetes and actually had . I have many of the same symptoms with leg swelling, pain, months of unsulin shots (while in the hospital) and the blood levels of the chemicals have markers for the diseases have been erratic.. but so far they have stopped shot of saying I have diabetes,, (forgot to mention peripheral neropathy, tremors.. etc..) and again, I am on 50% diability for Jet fuel (JP-4) and also had been sick from trichloroethylene. The JP-4 got me sick first.. Since I am under a doctors care, and get tested every few months, I hope it doe snot progress in ful lblown diabetes, but with pancreas disease, I have a high chance of getting it. Mor einfo coming when my C%P exams and my claims go through the process for an increase in my rating..

I should have said, in my opinion, through a lot of experience,, the doctors want more proof than a complaint... as a fellow back suffer with arthritits, disc disease, operations.. and bi-monthly spinal inejections.. I can say this with confidence..

a through exam including x-rays and MRI's will show whether a pysical problem has existed and manifested over a period of days or years.. so it might show that thas was a problem going several years back... that's the best I can say about a back problem..

count me in as one of those who lost their home (20 years ago), I to lost everything when my health failed me. I was treated like an animal..I had lost all my private health insurance. I actually went through the SSDI process first, and was horrified at how they treat sick people.. I then came to the VA.. I had already had several operations and was crippled... The fight continues... I had no idea how to navigate through these processes and if I had I would have never gone through all this hell for more than 20 years..

I made a deal with my base personnel office,, I got very sick from the jet fuel (severe headaches, limbs swelling, blood, and severe edema.. and a doctor gave me a waiver which said I can no longer work with the petroleum chemcials, they made me sick.. so they gav eme a list to choose a new job from.. I went down the list and every job I picked I was told those jobs were only reserved for minorities. (I am white male) So, I finally got a job they said ok.. it was to work in data processing on computers for a weather squadron,, I was working there for several weeks, and even receieved an award for a perfect job in my skills and converting the data... then one day they told me my job has been swtiched to a new job, so they sent me to work at a graphics shop working with offest presses.. well it turned out in the printing business the rollers and drums on the presses use chemicals.. so I had to use trichloroethylene, which again, made my limbs swell up and bloody... that destroyed the five years of duty I put into my work... They made me sick all over again after the doctors and command agreed I was to sick from working with chemicals, yet they forced me into getting sick all over again.. I can go on with stories about getting screwed around.. but as far as the bargaining goes, I have no yet had this happen with my claims,, yet..

I meant this in general for all of us... everyone who has problems that don't always show symptoms outwardly, on cue, in front of others.. and don't show up in blood tests.. my doctors are well aweware of all this... again, it was for all of us

The most difficult part of a claim: proving what happens when no one else sees it happen. Example, I have severe muscle spams where my feet (mostly my feet, toes, but also hands and fingers) they twist and turn by themselves and contort badly, with sever epain, this can go on for up to around 20 minutes.. I have also gone through periods of craying and weeping like a baby,, for no reason out fo the blue.. this mostly happened in the hospital, I think some nurses saw it happen several times.. Crippling pain where I just fall, I lose al muschle control and just fall... I forgot to add severe diarreah.. only way they can see it is if you lose a loot of weight, or for some reason it shows anemia.. which it usually doesn't show in blood tests... you suffer in sielnce.. I have many weird and crazy things happen,, I really don't think they believe me.. all the years of the pain and suffering, when I fiannly had a huge syst grown on my pancreas they finally took my complaints serious.. The neurolgoist looke dlike he thought I was lying, until mky body went spastic and I fell several times when he told me to walk around on my heels, toes, and also when he had me do those arm and hand outreach exercises.. they really think you are lying unless they see something.. blood tests do not always show disease.. sometimes the chemical levels just don't fall or raise to the levels showing the diseases.. It's not our fault these diseases play these games and screw us..

I paid them about 10 years ago... and paid a few thousand for the removal and making new teeth.. (the denatl school was the cheapest possible way to have the remains surgically removed.. I guess after a few years they no longer fit, and need adjusted.. I don't have the money for that stuff.. plus they are 100 miles away,,, each way... I am too sick to drive... so, I wil just gum my food... I have been all these years.. if by chance with 100% I do get dental, I would like ot ask if they can fix the false teeth.. if not, oh well...

I have no clue why you sai dal this about eating with no teeth.. I have not had teeth in 10 years, and before that they were like shards of broken glass melting away... the VA refused to help,, I had to go to a dental school to have them removed. I was always woken up and spitting out broekn peices and had them sticking through my tongue and lips, bleeding all the time,, intestinal disease had caused them to melt away, so when statements like this are said, it only brings me back to the last days of my teeth.. I gum food now, the false teeth are worthless for trying to eat.. if my falst teeth could be fixed or adjusted soemhow, I really don't know.. the VA wil not help me.. maybe if they fiannly give me 100% they might help?

Thanx, I wil look into it

oh my ! I see that this thread about jet Fuel and disease applies to me.. I am already rated at 50% (which most of you know by al my posts..) and am working on trying to get 100% I have a few of the symptoms listed here too the skin disease.. Dysplastic nevus Nerve disease... and intestinal disease.. I am finding more ont his website.. I recently had some C&P exams, the doctor saw the skin problems and also saw that I had recently had a biopsy from a Dysplastic nevus. (Mole) that is inflamed and could be cancerous. no reults yet from lab. but I have hundreds of these on my body..... I worked with Jet Fuel (JP-4) and also Trichloroethylene.

I tried to find it and join: Group Not Found There is no group called msvet. Please make sure you typed the web address correctly. If you have done so, the group may no longer exist. You may also search or browse for groups on the Yahoo! Groups Home Page. ========== I found and joined : MultipleSclerosis-MS I am not sure if you meant this group?

I sort of understand bi-lateral defintion, but what about when a problems exists for both arms and both legs (neuro). is there a quad lateral type of rating? My condition(s) are so confusing so baffling, so screwed up... (in case you haven't noticed through my forum postings..)..

I am 54 and am hoping for P&T so dammit, I wonder if I can get it

I stil have no clue if my diagnosis more closely match Parkinson's or MS, but Myotonic Dystrophy just does nto match my symptoms as well as the others.. I really hope they diagnose me better..maybe my last Neurologist exam at my C&P exam wil be the best diagnosis. Parkinson's looks to be a good possiblity as I keep reading about it,, also some nurses that kept me alive for 6 months in the hospital bed at the VA asked if I had Parkinson's disease. I told them the doctors didn't know at that time.. now I read more about Parkinson's and don't think that the problem, because I seldom shake at rest, my shaking happens more when I move, also, I get violent jerking when I am at ful rest, usally in bed.. so I am back leaning more towards MS.. of course I am a sufferer of being a vicitm of illness from cheicals, Jet Fuels (JP-4) and also trichloroethylene from my jobs in the USAF. so the neurological diseases may have been affected and/or caused, exaserbated by these chemcials.. all in my USAF medical records when I was active duty.

Every exam is different, every examiner is different, so far I have had at least three c&p exams in 15 years.. (2 exams this month..) I don't have much advice because until I win this go around, I can only say what I learned from the first 15 years ago.. they can either poke you a couple times ask a couple of questions, or they can engage you for a long while and have you go through acrobatics.. you can also type up a short page of your symptoms.. and give them a copy while you answer their questions.. I would think they could see who comes in with scripted answers and who answers questions smoothly, or forced.. I would imagine that whatever experience they have they have a baseline of comparison when they see hundreds/thousands of vets.. they probably see patterns... my main concern is that they cannot possibly have the time to rerad through a foot thick of medical records or read them al off their computer, especially when they have a workload of so many hundreds of vets per week.. plus they might or might not have specialized experience in the field in which your claimis based.. too bad some claim examainers have not written books on their experiences.. (if they have please lets us know where we can find them..). My case feels like it is probably much different than many cases.. as I have many, many problems.. where are some people may have an issue with an arm or leg, every part of my body has had problems.. (actually my ears seem to be ok, for now..) and I think my heart is ok.. but that it about it..

Congrats!

My rating is currently 50% from ilness such as severe skin problems and headaches from Jet Fuel (J-P4) exposure. I had a herniated disc (L-4) and hit it surgically removed over 20 years ago, in my latest claim, I didn't ask for disability from it, because I don't think I could provie it started in my active duty days,,, but I did complain about leg pain back in the service (USAF) and later had shooting pains in my leg.. I worked as a fuels specialist which was hard labor moving fueling equipment around. in my C&P exams (both a neurologist and regular doctor) I told them about the surgery on my back.. Not sure if that will even come into play,, but I was disagnosed with Myotonic Dystrophy, but I still think it is MS. I cannot remember exactly what one doctor said about my neuro exam, because the medical terams go over my head,, and don't have a copy of my C&P exams yet, but I expect those in about 60 days.. I am not sure if my back surgery will play any role in my Neuro diagnosis.. Suffer from severe pain, Fibromyalgia, tremors and shaking.. One doctor was talking about bilateral ,,blah blah blah in both arms and both legs.. I have degerative disc disease and arthritis. I also get injections in my spine ever 2 months. MY disc was removed by Kaiser (1989) , not the VA. I have been under a doctors care at the VA for 15 years. I have had many surgeries, the latest was for pancreatic disease...