Testvet

CC I did use this to WIN "MY" case because it is MY case rofl that is my life story in this document and this lawyer is an excellent NOVA lawyer who specializes in VA law but my PTSD is based on a personal assault where 4 of the 7 men who attacked me were charged with attempted murder and robbery and were sentenced to 15 years in Leavenworth, the other 3 were given reduction to E1 and then BCDs after they testified against the other 4 at their general court martials none of my claim was approved based on Edgewood or the experiments I was used in one of the Doctors who wrote one of the IMOs is a retired Army Colonel who spent from the late 50s as a 1LT thru his career as a CPT, MAJ, LT Colonel and promotion to Colonel all while he was doing "research" at Edgewood, he did go to Fort Benning and was the Chief of Psychiatry at the post hospital before he retired, where he then went to UCLA and was a professor and staff doctor at the hospital there. But he pointed out that Dr Boscarinos study was the first indepth medical study on the relationship between PTSD and cardiac issues and it was published in the Congressional Record, the BVA Judge found that to be credible evidence that there is a link between PTSD and cardiac issues and said my case was in relative equipose and in that case the award was granted. All the VSOs had told me this claim could not be won, I kept it alive on NODs and appeals until June 2007 when the rules changed and the VA allowed us to hire lawyers for appeals at BVA and at the RO after the first denial, since my case had been denied prior to June 2007 the lawyer took my case pro bono she felt the VARO was shafting me, and she wrote some great filings, better than any VSO I ever had. yea this is real personal case to me lol

if your treating doc is supporting you for an increase and you are already rated at 70% the VARO could go 2 different routes either 100% schedular or grant 70% TDIU which is paid at the 100% rate because your PTSD prevents you from being employable it is seriously unlikely that they would move to lower your award if your treating doc is supporting an increase yes the claims are taking longer now to go thru the initial claims phase due to the submission of the OIF/OEF claims and now all the claims for the new 3 presumptive AO illnesses IHD being the largest one, a lot of Nam vets have cardiac conditions that are connected to IHD many died before the VA passed the rule last year allowing the cardiac claims then there are many that made cardiac claims years ago that were denied because they claimed there was no evidence AO caused cardiac problems, those veterans are owed a lot of back pay under the Nehmer rules I believe but all those claims have to be reviewed. do not ever get to the point where you feel you should be happy with "whatever they give you" they are not "giving" you anything, you earned these benefits with your service and by being physically harmed by your service, compensation covers pain and suffering and loss of possible earned wages VA compensation benefits are not a gift or welfare disabled vets are getting what was promised to them when they enlisted or were drafted that famous "PROMISE" nothing more and nothing less they "win" by discouraging veterans from asking for the full benefits they are entitled to and are seeking many VSOs help feed this image by making idiotic statements like you should be happy with what you got, many vets don't get that much, what are you greedy, etc well not all vets are disabled as other vets that is why there are so many different percentages they can award for each medical issue. just like PTSD can be awarded at 10% 30% 50% 70% or 100% veterans can be affected to different levels don't apologize for being disabled as bad as you are, you didn't ask for it the simple fact is now you are disabled and you deserve all the benefits your symptoms and condition qualify you for. Sometimes we have to get IMOs or IMEs to over ride a bad C&P exam or a raters bad decision but that is what the NODs and BVA appeals are for you don't have to accept a bad decision that you feel is wrong. good luck and I hope they resolve this in your favor as quickly as possible me I was hard headed and fought my cardiac issues from Dec 2002 until June 2009 before the BVA award was granted and I got the back pay because I felt they were SC and the VA didn't it took time and a lot of appeals to different people and 3 IMOs and 1 IME but I was successful the people here gave me the motivation not to quit, I promise you many times during that long period I thought about quitting, but if I had I only would have harmed my family, my wife's potential DIC benefits etc. Sometimes we have to fight for what is right

congrats on the award yes now the VA should care for ALL of your medical problems except dental you actually have to be 100% schedular or TDIU to get dental care or be SC for dental care they are pretty strict on that but if you have private insurance keep it because there are times the VA won't do some of the tests you think you need to diagnose some problems where a private doc and insurance company will do it like MRIs and cat scans so you can catch issues before they become Cat 4 cancer or similar severe problems I see a private cardiologist because the VA told me 2 years ago that they would not see me in the cardiac clinic and my Primary care doc would write my meds for cardiac issues but I was wasting their time by being seen 2 times a year in the clinic in April I had 2 heart attacks and almost died so I think I need to be seen by a cardiologist so I have a private practice heart doc following me now and I take the meds they want to my primary care doc and they order the meds from the VA pharmacy he did put in a consult for them to install a defib one of the 2 heart attacks is where I lost the electrical pulses that make the heart beat the defib would have restarted it if I had not been in the hospital when that heart attack happened I might not have lived to when the ambulance arrived with the paddles to zap me so now I see the need for the defib I want to live as long as I can so I can keep spending these VA compensation checks that should be all veterans goal to keep living and keep getting the benefits they have earned thru their military service keep all your options open for good medical care

in 2009 I got my letter from the BVA my lawyer said it would take 6 months before I got the award letter and deposit maybe even a year they have to send your C file back to the VARO from the BVA and then it has to be implemented and if you have any issues they need to rate then that will add more time to it I was lucky then when I got my deposit and award letter 90 days after I got the award letter from DC the money will come

Carlie yes I got the free 10,000 and I bought the other 20,000 that was available we still owe 164,000 on the house so if I can get the mortgage insurance thru the VA I will go thru the C&Ps and the fight with them over it, I was told that I would never get the cardiac claim approved by all of the VSOs that looked at my case and you all encouraged me to keep fighting it I did it took from Dec 2002 until June 2009 but I did get the back pay and the SMC S rating out of it that was a huge win, financially and mentally. I know that nothing comes easy from the VARO a lot of times they don't want to approve claims and want the BVA to force them to award them I accept this, I just know that if I don't file the claim and ask for the benefits then I have already lost the claim since my legs not working right are secondary to my SC Cardiac issues there is a nexus to this being a valid claim nothing ventured nothing gained I know the mortgage insurance will be expensive but the odds of me living another 25 years that is left on the mortgage is mighty slim I know that there are no guarantees about life expectancy but with the last 2 heart attacks in April 2011 it brings the total up to 9 heart attacks, the stroke in 92, my ejection fraction was 25% in 2002 when SSA found me to be disabled for SSD purposes the cath in April shows it to now be 10% the odds are not in my favor to living a long and fruitful life I am just trying to get my family all the benefits they might be entitled to, if the VA says no, I can accept that but I still feel I owe it to my wife to try and get these benefits if I am eligible for them. My thanks to all for all comments I need to hear the good and bad sides of the arguments, I don't need anything sugar coated I try and do my research before I jump in but sometimes a person needs to swim against the current

I know I have fought this out years ago but my cardiac problems are now SC they were not back then and my ejection fraction has dropped from 25% to 10% as the April 10 cath shows the weakening of my heart causes me to become short of breath and unable to walk more than 10 steps without having to sit down so the doctor said it precludes normal ability to walk on my own so I should now meet the requirements here now c. The loss, or loss of use, of one lower extremity together with (1) residuals of organic disease or injury, or (2) the loss or loss of use of one upper extremity. Item (1) and Item (2) above must so affect the functions of balance or propulsion as to preclude locomotion without the aid of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair. I am just trying to get my wife all the benefits she is entitled to if I do NOW qualify for the mortgage insurance and the home adaption allowance I would be harming her financially not to apply for it I can't buy life insurance or mortgage insurance on the free market, I would if I could they all reject me due to my SC disabilities I appreciate the answers and I know there are no guarantees on claims with the VA all I do know is if I don't file the claim they can't approve it or deny it so I will submit it and see what they do and see if they deny it what there reason was and see if I can overcome their objections with end stage congestive heart failure what can they do shoot me?

Like Pete says you need a voc rehab rep that is helping you with the ILP program and not throwing up roadblocks for each and everything you want or need I have been lucky in getting my primary care doc writing the proper medical necessary papers for stuff like an orthopedic mattress the power chair that cardiac rehab got for me back in 2003 and other things to improve my quality of life after they decided I was totally disabled and unable to return to any type of work you need a rep that is helping you

unless your chiro is a VA doc then they will probably say no unless you can get your primary care doc to say it is medically necessary I have gotten a lot of things from them ILP and thru prosthetics but not a pool or a spa then again maybe they just didn't like me but I would try to get them to pay for it upfront getting reimbursed is usually a no go

As most of you know I suffered a severe heart attack in early April that took my ejection fraction from 25% down to 10% which has left me short of breath and pretty much left to use either a wheel chair or my power chair to move around if I have to move much more than about 50 feet, should I be eligible now for the house allowance to make the house more adaptable for the power chair and the mortgage insurance since I no longer have full mobility due to a service connected issue the heart is not pumping enough blood for me to move on my own power anymore or will I just be wasting my time and the VAROs in filing a claim for these benefits?

the VA has no time limits and it can still be reviewed and sent back not to bust your bubble but even denials have to be "approved" I would not be looking at new houses or new cars or pickups anytime in the near future nothing with the VA is guaranteed and believe nothing until the money is deposited I like things in writing and have never trusted anything anyone ever told me from the govt and I have really learned to trust them after I get the money good luck but something tells me you still have a lot of fight before you see a check for 673,000 dollars from the VA

if your PTSD stressor occurred in your first enlistment that was honorable then you have a valid PTSD claim if the PTSD occurred during one of the periods covered by the BCD then no the VA will deny the claim. you should be able to get mental health help at either the VAMC or the Vet Center due to your Iraq service unless your PTSD incidents happened during the time covered by your BCD I would not even worry about getting your discharge upgraded at this point I would focus more energy on getting treatment and getting the stressor verified that happened during your honorable service period you are still entitled to medical care and compensation for issues that happened during that time period

congrats vindication can be a wonderful thing, I was told I could or would not win my claim for heart disease it took me 7 years, a BVA hearing and 4 IMOs and a great lawyer but the Judge did grant the claim back to Dec 2003 to get that notice that we have WON a claim we have been fighting for years and had people tell us we were wasting the VAROs time, the VSO's time etc it really feels good to get the award letter granting the claim congrats you are entitled to every nickle and each and every benefit

thank you for the support yes my wife if very happy I am still breathing

well all the VA almost got to stop paying my check,,, on April 8 I had a heart attack, ended up being put into a induced coma on 14 April they sent me to Charleston for severe heart failure work up possible VLAD surgery was told my lungs are to messed up and the surgery would end up being problematic they kept me in the hospital until 5:30 pm today I am really happy to be home after 15 days in hospital and most of them in ICU this heart attack kicked my butt my EF is 10-15% but I have a new cardiologist treating me outside of the VA I want to keep breathing and cashing my checks it's not time for my wife to file a DIC claim personally I hope she has to wait YEARS to file it rofl yes living is a success

if you filed in July 2000 then yes you should get the 2 years that they denied from July 2000 thru the SC date in 2002 wether you get SMC S for the entire period that is hard to say your CAD or IHD will most likely be rated at 60% from July 2000 to your SC date for PTSD your ejection fraction has to be less than 30% to get 100% for heart problems that is how I got my SSD approved EF of 25% and 2 failed bypasses the VA only rated me at 60% when they were ordered by the BVA to grant SC for CAD they claim I had an echo in May 2008 that has a 40% ejection rate since an echo is an estimate and the cardiac cath that showed the 25% in Oct 2002 I know which one I trust....... as far as SMC S good luck there is no guarantee of that

good luck on that issue I am sure most veterans and their families would say keeping the claims process moving is essential but I doubt if Congress will agree to that idea

If you filed your claim in Columbia SC VARO more 30% than 50% they tend to low ball claims here for some reason probably no more than just because they can I have as little to do with them as possible anymore the last time I went there was in Feb 2009 for my BVA hearing but between Dec 2003 and June 2007 they made my life a living hell with denials and low ball awards good luck

are these the devices they call a halter monitor? I wore one years ago for awhile after I had a triple bypass but that was in 97 and they had me wear it occasionally a few times in 98 and 99 when I was having some issues they thought were heart related and they were inserting stents but I haven't been on a monitoring device in years

the VAMCs would stay open the VAROs not so much I think most VARO employees would be furloughed and all claims processing would stop just like IRS refunds and offices, passports etc none of these employees fall under "essential personnel" air traffic control would still work, TSA would still work etc national parks and museums would all close etc just think no one would be lied to by the 800 numbers or given any mis-information a forced break by all calling that 800 number daily and weekly is a waste of time it does not speed them up

as long as you are breathing the war with the VA will never be "over" your rating does NOT become guaranteed until you have had it for 20 years only then can it be revoked for fraud the claim is only the beginning

Chuck in essence I knew my claim was going to be in trouble from the beginning due to my use in the Edgewood Arsenal human experimentation program http://edgewoodtestvets.org/ I am one of the 7120 men used in this program I was there in 1974 my subject number is 6778A the A means I could be used in any and all experiments they had 4 categories A,B, C and D D were equipment tests only I don't know the exact breakdown of the B or C category but it dealt with organphoshate weapons and other drug type tests and also I was activated for GW1 with a National Guard unit and sent to the middle east so the possible reasons for my many medical problems were all going to be controversial as you can see by the court case the govt is still fighting the human experiments my point is that if I was NOT going to file a claim for the issues why would I have written to Sec Principi asking for help? why did his office have the Director of the Alabama VARO write me and tell me I did not have an active claim in the VA system and if I wanted to file a claim I needed to submit one which unfortunately the VSO I had at the time did under a very vague term heart problems and no other issues as he told us that I could only file for one issue at a time and since my cardiac problems were the most severe that is the one we chose to go with, he just did a pizz poor job of filing it and never used a diagnostic code etc in July 2003 when we got the denial for "heart problems" and I had then been diagnosed with PTSD by the VA he refused to file a claim for PTSD that was not combat related and threw my paperwork into his file cabinet where it laid until Dec 2003 when we found it that action alone cost us 6 months of 100% for the PTSD July 2003 - Dec 2003 he was retired by the Gov of SC in early 2004 he was old and messing up a lot of vets claims he was having a lot of family problems etc but he hurt a lot of veterans during his last year of work for the Gov Office as the state rep for SC at Charlie Norwood in Augusta I know he made my claim a lot more difficult than it had to be I eventually won but it took years and we lost a lot of money because of the way he handled it

I know I am not real smart but I was smart enough to keep my cardiac claim alive for 7 years until they finally approved it at the BVA in 2009 recently I asked the question of the VA if the letter I sent to then Sec Principi dated Nov 21 2002 and the response from the manager of the Montgomery Ala VARO telling me I did not have a claim in the VA system dated 6 Dec 2002 should not have been used as an informal claim date to establish the earliest effective date instead of the Dec 2003 claim that was used when I got pizzed off at the AL VSO who lied to me in 2002 and told me I could only file for one issue at a time and we filed for "heart problems" which of course was denied and then he never filed the NOD in July 2003 and refused to file my PTSD claim in July 2003 and threw it in his filing cabinet until we found it in Dec 2003 when we stopped by his office to check on the claim status and he was gone on Xmas break but his secretary pulled the file and there laid all of the paperwork he had done nothing with it so we revoked his POA and we filed for everything PTSD, CAD, hemmeroids, COPD etc in all it was like 11 issues today I spoke with someone from the VARO about the Nov 21 2002 letter he says since I didn't use the words "claim" in it that it doesn't count as an informal claim what I was just writing Sec Principi to say hi? He said he would talk to the other DROs in the AM and call me back tomorrow but he doesn't see how they can allow this letter as an informal claim date should I file a BVA Form 9 and ask the BVA Judge to decide it there is 13 months at SMC S at stake why would I write the Secretary of the VA and mention all my health problems if I wasn't intending to file a claim for them instead of stating PTSD I used the term stress that I was suffering from and it caused me to leave the Postal Service after 7 heart attacks I was not diagnosed with PTSD until May 2003 I think I asked for the mental health referral from my PC doc the same week I sent the letter to Principi I was seen either in Jan or Feb 2003 and have been in the mental health system ever since luckily I have had the same shrink the entire time he is the Chief of Clinic and he likes me or is it time to just drop the issue and enjoy my retirement?

Because they can and the insurance companies never question the validity of the bills they don't care if the medical issue is SC or not I used to spend hours on the phone over BC paying bills from Fort Gordon for my ex wives kids whose fathers were retired military and were seen on base and it didn't matter what for pysch a doctor visit lab work etc it was 100 each bill BC paid it it was wrong but the Army kept billing them anyway like someone else pointed out it counts towards your annual deductible and they never try to collect what BC doesn't pay from the veteran it's just part of doing business with the government hospitals and insurance companies are not going to fight over each bill they make it up over the course of the year in billing the feds and all of the other federal business they do with federal employees BC/BS is not losing any money on the deal the only ones that it seems to bother are us vets who see how they the insurance companies and government are ripping each other off in the end only you will have heart burn over it the govt doesn't and neither does BS/BS or any other insurance company they bill

it sounds like your primary care doc is referring you to mental health and they will be the ones to determine if you have PTSD or not, it is not normally done in one visit I spent 4 months in the PTSD determination team taking tests and doing interviews with shrinks and PHDs and the resident did several of those computer type tests before they made the diagnosis of PTSD only then did I file the claim with the Regional office some will say file the claim and by the time the C&P gets scheduled you will have your diagnosis

surgery does not always "fix" the issue sometimes the scar tissue after the surgery causes more problems than the original issue sometimes if you have choices it is best to take advantage of them yes I realize that the military caused this issue and the VA should "fix it" you say you want a nuerosurgeon to do the operation and have been told the VAMC doesn't have any they have ortho surgeons yet it sounds like you still want the VA do do it so wanting the best meets the reality when it comes to out of pockets costs if a private doctor does it or a VA doctor does it if the issue is SC then you should still be entitled to the compensation for the rehab time the paperwork just has to be filed with the VARO for the temp 100% I think if you dig deep enough into most VAMC staff you will find that most of them also have private practice offices at adjacent teaching hospitals and are in a dual role and working at both facilities and getting paid by both in Augusta GA many of them get paid by the VA MCG and the doctors group that does the billing for the staff physicians Back when I had BC/BS I could see the same doctor at the VA for a 50 dollar copay of see them at MCG for a 15 dollar copay same doc and it was easier to get the appt at MCG to see them and also a lot cheaper some times the high horses we ride cause us more problems than they are worth