brewers_2150

The VA will not prescribe it. They will say it costs too much. I have severe coronay artery disease, and the VA refuses fill perscriptions my outside Cardiologist provides because "they are too expensive". Never mind the fact that they are the best medications for my condition. Stan VA - The Cheapest healthcare money can buy. (legally)

My local AFB newspaper carried an article from the Associated Press titled "Soldier suicide rate may set record again, Army says". It says the Army had 115 suicides in 2007 and expects it to exceed that this year. I suspect the Army will handle the problem by trying to identify possible suicide risks and removing them from active duty. This will make their statistics look good, but the problem will not go away, it will only be shifted to the VA. I wonder how many suicides the AF, Navy and Marines have. If the Military could just remove the Souls from these people, they wouldn't have these problems. Stan

I have a new Dr. since that one.(At my request). I wonder if I should ask the new Dr. about the link, between depression and CAD or if in doing so, I would come off as just wanting disability. Would it be different if it is the Dr.s idea?

Has anybody ever used the "Expert Medical Opinions Medical specialists for veteran and military medical conditions www.medopinions.com" listed at the top of this page?

But WHO does write IMO's ? When I asked my VA Dr. about the link , she said "I don't believe in giving Government handouts!".

Testvet, Thanks. That is the address I used, but got this back: The message that you sent was undeliverable to the following: jboscarino (User account is expired)

If any body knows how I can contact Dr. Joseph A. Boscarino , please e-mail me at Brewers@ftc-i.net. Do you know of any studies from Dr. Joseph A. Boscarino that link Coronary Artery Disease to Major Depression? Or better yet, and Dr. who can do a IMO along those lines? Thanks, Stan

Yes there are many studies linking CAD (Coronary Artery Disease) with Depression, but please show me one Dr. who will put that in writing in his patients records, and I'll give him another patient! I feel my CAD is a result of years of deep depression. While VA Dr.'s will privately tell me that there are studies that link the two, none will put it in writting. Brewers_2150

How is it that different DAV RO's have different rules? Can't I change my POA at any time? I need a "Consummers Report" on Service Officers from various Service Organizations!

If the DAV drives you crazy, can it be service connected? : ) Hi all, I am Sbrewers husband, and here is my story.... I contacted the DAV via their website to ask if they were acting on the Technetium recall. They had a SO for the State office call me. Man I was impressed, he was a real "go getter", and sounded very knowledgeable. I went to the DAV State office, and was told I could not meet with the SO I had spoken to, but would have to speak to another SO baised on my last name. I spoke to SO #2, and got the impression that he would rather have been somewhere else. He showed NO desire to assist me. He looked up my case number, and found that years ago I had assigned the American Legion as my POA. Will that got him off the hook! He sent me down the hall to the American Legion. Well they were about as excited as the DAV SO #2! They asked, "What are you doing here? You should see your local SO before coming to the State office!" Well I felt about 2 inches tall. I called the local American Legion and made an appointment to see their SO. The appointment, as my dear wife pointed out, was made for McDonalds. I felt very odd talking about my Service Connected Disability in such a public place. Oh well, the SO didn't want to spend much time on that any way. Instead he insisted on talking about his church, and insisted I attend it next Sunday. I tried to get the conversation back to my medical case, and he would direct it back to attending his church. After another attempt to discuss my case, he finally said, "I've got another appointment coming in, call me if you need anything." So, I went out to my car, and waited 5 minutes, watching him at the empty table. No one else came in. I called the DAV office again, asking to speak to SO #1. The receptionist said he was with a customer. I asked to leave a message, and she insisted on my SS #. I gave it to her, and she said "Oh, the American Legion is your POA, you will have to talk to them." I said, "I can't leave SO #1 a message? " and she said "No". WELL!!! I was able to locate SO #1's email address, and sent him all the above information and asked that he call me. I sent it with delivery receipt and read receipt turned on. He read it at 1:57 but never called me, nor returned the e-mail message. There ought to be somewhere a Vet can take @%*^ like this and DEMAND GOOD SERVICE. Any ideas? Is there a department in the Senate or Congress that over sees these activities? I'm about ready to give up and blow my brains out! HELP!

I had a bad toe pain, VA Podiatrist tried a couple of non surgical steps, then we went with surgery. After surgery the toe would not bend. I went back for Physical Theropy and 2 months later it still does not bend. I filled a claim for 1151. They turned it down, stating I did not show where the Dr. was careless, neglectfull, lacked proper skill, or that it was not reasonably forseen. The Dr. talked about risks with the surgery such as, infection, reaction to anastesia, scar tisue, and loss of sensitivity due to cut nerves. I related to the last two items due to previous surgeries and agreed to go forward with the surgery. In my mind, the loss of use of this toe was not reasonably forseen. Where can I find what risks are considered "Reasonable"? I don't think that loss of use due to Hammertoe surgery was reasonably forseen. I searched high and low, but can not find where ANY risks are detailed as resonably forseen. Anybody able to help?

Hi Berta, I'm begining to beleive that the VA did not have my records from 1980-1983. I checked with ROI again today, and told them that only my Dental Records were in the package I received yesterday. I told them I had been treated in the Mental Health Clinic, and asked if perhaps those records were stored seperately, or could not be released to me. ROI said, "No, this is all of your records." I'm thinking that if they did not use my USAF or VA records in 1983, then they certainly did not in 2003. No, I noticed the 1year time limit after it had expired. : ( Brewers_2150

Hi all, I am sbrewer's husband, and here is a summary of my case: 1977-1980 USAF – 1980 Placed on TDRL (Temporary Duty Retirement List) at 50% for Service Connected Depression. VA awards 10% for same. 1980-1983 Received payments from the Air Force and VA, and went to College for Vocational Rehab, and continued medical care at VA. 1983 USAF Ended TDRL with a lump sum payment and honorable discharge. VA withholds their 10% payments until USAF lump sum is Recooped. 1983 Hospitalized for depression in a civilian hospital. I did not go to the VA because it was an emergency. 2003 I notify the VA that I had not heard from them, and asked what happened? The said they “lost” me, and sent a check for the 10% from 1991 to 2003. (I have lived in the same city from 1980 to present) The VA stated that they had evaluated my case and would leave it at 10%. Last week I asked the VA hospital for a copy of my records from 1980-1984. They could not find them. I was called by ROI (Release of Information) and they said they did find my records, but that they had been filed under the wrong SS#. (The digits had been transposed). Now, if the VA RO had contacted the VA Hospital in 1980-1983 for my records, the Hospital would not have been able to provide them, because of the error on my SS# in their files. With out the info from the VA Hospital they could not make a fair assessment of my case. My questions are: 1. Should I not be able to have the case reopened, perhaps with an increase? 2. If the USAF said I was 50%, why didn’t the VA? Brewers_2150