deserteagle

Have any of you heard of a BCMR for PTSD? I was honorably discharged and am trying to see if changing my characterization to med retirement would benefit me at all. I have proof that I was exhibiting the symptoms in service but have been out for 6 years. I am now 100% VA SC for PTSD. Is this uncommon? What paperwork should I file and to whom? Should I get a lawyer or representative? If I do get representation, where should I start looking? If I was able to succeed in winning this, a friend has mentioned the possibility of CRSC. I am not quite sure what that is or if I would actually be entitled to it. PLEASE HELP!!

I have been out of service now for about 6 years. I have documentation of my post deployment health assessment, evals, documents stating that I would no longer be considered for promotion (basically forcing me out). Since I have been out, I held 5 jobs in 4 years and finally went for treatment at my local VA. I am currently rated 100% SC for PTSD alone. I would think that with this backing my case, I would stand a pretty good chance, maybe?

I was asked an interesting question and wonder if anyone here would have the answer. If you were honorably discharged from service during OIF I and were exhibiting signs of PTSD before discharge, could you have your discharge changed to medical or medical retirement? What would you need to back up such a claim? If you are 100% SC for PTSD, does that help? I have read that you can have discharges upgraded if OTH, but was curious on this topic.

carlie...the effective date of my 100% rating is around Aug2009. I am going to ask my doc what my prognosis is next time we meet.

pigdriver...thanks for the advice about the PET. My therapist has been trying to push this down my throat saying that it has great results. I, for one, am a HUGE skeptic of anyone who says they can "cure" the mind. If they could, you could do the same for many other mental illnesses. I am going to have to talk to my doc. I have been seeing the same guy for over 3 years and I think that he has a pretty good handle on where I have been and where I stand. I don't think that he should have a problem helping me out with either a statement of support or other such documentation. basser...I know that I need to ask to be rated or the VA will never just hand me the rating. I have been advised by my VSO to file a notice requesting the permanent status. Thank you for the form number and the wording that I should use.

Hey everyone, I am ramping up to open a claim for P&T PTSD. I am currently rated 100% PTSD and want to get all my ducks in a row before submitting for a claim and possible C&P exam. I am wondering what sorts of documentation or other proof would help in winning the permanent status. Right now what I have is: 1) I have been receiving SSDI for about the same amount of time as VA Dis Comp 2) I have been attending both individual and group therapies as much as possible with little to no improvement 3) I have obtained a service dog for help with my PTSD symptoms I also plan on bringing my wife to my C&P exam who can elaborate on what life is like with me. Since I am going to be opening the claim, I was also going to try to get the P&T rating back to the original claim date at which time I was only rated 50% (which was approximately 18 months before I received 100%). What, if anything, would help me with this case? I was thinking since I was released from the hospital right before this claim was opened would help me but I am not sure what else would. If anyone could please help me in getting as much ammo as I can going into this, it would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks, I am looking forward to it. I hope that it will get me out of the house more too

I am 100% service connected PTSD (not P&T) and SSDI. I have recently been accepted into a service dog program and am scheduled for training from end of Oct to mid Nov. I am wondering if anyone knows if this could influence qualifying for P&T or should I leave it alone until my next review (OCT 2013)?

I have a 100% schedular rating for PTSD and receive SSD. I was originally rated 50% and began receiving SSD shortly after this rating. I was rated 100% a year later. My question is I am thinking of applying for P&T backdated to the date I began receiving SSD. I am wondering if the SSD award would actually help me in this case. I have researched the diagnostic codes for the SSD and they are for my PTSD. If so, what would I need to do to begin this process?

How would I file for P&T? Is there a VA Form or do I just submit a written request within 1 year of decision? Is it useful to get an outside Dr's opinion or should I just stick to the VA system? I want to be fully armed going into this, so any ammo you can give me going into this would be great. Thanks

I just had a PTSD review exam in OCT and I recently received a letter that I am up for a review OCT2010. My question is, I had my initial exam in Sept2008, review Oct2009 and now have another review Oct2010...does this mean that I will have one every year until they can reduce my rating from 100% or is it just standard practice to have these every year?

My initial exam lasted about 30 minutes and I thought it was a bit of a joke. The man who conducted it was "contracted" by the VA to conduct these exams on the weekends. He was asking me to list the symptoms that I thought I had (as if I am a Doctor and know the entire list of symptoms of PTSD). The C&P report was about 1.5 pages long. My last exam, a review, lasted about 3 hours. The exam got me an increase from 50% to 100%. I got a copy of the C&P exam and the doc was very thorough in his notes. The report was 6-7 pages long and noted everything from the behavior I displayed in the room with him and confirmed behavior that he read in my therapy notes. I wish that all examiners took this much time and effort to get veterans what they deserve. I think that it just depends on the doctor and whether he/she is for Veterans or just there to make extra money.

My VSO told me to request my VA medical records and see if there are any instances in those records that would substantiate having an earlier effective date. As it stands now, he said that the Oct 6 date is the correct one, but they probably only took into account the C&P exam and not my mental health records in their decision. So I hope to receive those soon and look through them to see if there is a point that I can say it was worse before Oct 6. It shouldn't be tough to find.

I will keep in mind not to let them know that I have been researching on the internet. I would hate to start off on the wrong foot.

Thanks for all the info from all of you. I am meeting with my VSO on Monday morning and let you know what they say. But now I have plenty of questions to ask them. I will keep you posted as things develop.

Clown...I did not ask for an increase in my rating. I just opened a new claim in 8/2009 for hearing and the VARO "reopened" the PTSD claim. The only reason I found out about it is that I got a letter in the mail with a mental health C&P exam. I called the RO and found out they attached the PTSD claim to the claim for hearing. I am still not sure what the PTSD part of the claim was considered, a review or increase request. I will have to pull out the decision letter and get you some exact wording. Delta...I was discharged Nov2004 from the service. The Army neglected to tell me about the one year rule when I was out processing. I don't know if it is relevant or not if I am in the IRR still. I stopped working in April 2008 when I was hospitalized for PTSD (long story...probably heard it before though). I filed my claim that very month and got a decision Sept 2008 of 50%. I then filed a claim with SSA and started receiving that Dec 2008. I know these are a whole lot of dates but I even I am confused as to how this works. I will into the regulations that you all have posted and I am going to meet with my VSO either this afternoon or first thing Monday. Thanks again for all the help!!!

Also, 12R, how is a reconsideration different from a NOD? I am just wondering if there is a difference and if one would be quicker or "easier" than the other.

12R3G, thanks for the advice. How does one ask for P&T? Is this something that will come with time or something that I need to apply for? All this stuff is new to me as I never thought I would get 100% and never looked into the benefits of being 100% or P&T. What other benefits come along with being 100% SC?

Yes, I do get SSDI for PTSD effective December 2008. I sent this letter to them but have gotten no response as of yet. I am also waiting on my mental health records from the VA to review those. I also have a meeting with my VSO this week. Maybe hecan tell me the best option. But I do not feel that the date of the exam should be the effective date. Even my shrink has said that he thinks that I am unemployable numerous times throughout he past year. So I don't even know where to begin. I will keep you posted and thanks or the help.

When or if I find that, how would I go about getting that changed? Do I have to file an appeal or NOD? Or is this something that is a little simpler than that?

Thanks everyone. I guess that I should thank my lucky stars that I didn't get a decrease out of this. Best just leave well enough alone in this case. Thanks for the info, this sight is so very helpful!!!

I recently had my claim for PTSD "reviewed" as part of a new claim that I had opened for hearing loss. The date of claim for the hearing loss and the review was 8/14/2009. I was initially rated 50% for PTSD in my claim dated 4/2008 which was approved 9/2008. With this review, I received 100% PTSD with an effective date of 10/6/2009 (the date of my review C&P exam). I was wondering if the effective date should be at least 8/14/2009 (the date of claim) or even backdated to the original date of date in 2008. Thanks for the help!!!

John, What happened was that I filed a new claim for tinnitus. When I submitted this claim, the VARO reopened the PTSD claim and sent me for "review" C&P exam as part of my new claim dated 8/14/2009. My original claim was approved in 9/2008. The claim was reopened, by the VARO, within a year of the original claim approval. Since it was reopened, I sent in evidence of my SSDI in support of the claim after I was informed that I was due for a rating review. I hope this makes sense. Thanks for your help, I hope this better explains the situation.

So since they only stated my increase was effective Oct 6, what should I do to get it retroactive to the original date of claim?

I was initially rated at 50% SC for PTSD. I brought SS a copy of my decision letter and also got a copy of all my mental health notes from the VA. You can go to ROI in your local VA and get these. I submitted these documents with my application and got approved without a SS exam in less than 6 weeks. You should even get a copy of your C&P exam notes from your VA to submit to them. The problem that I found is that the VA is slow in sending your records to the SSA and it is faster to request them yourself and submit them.