tck5810

Yest to using my ETS physical for my depression claim. My ETS physical states that I did experience depression, but the VA has locked in on my statement on the front page of the physical form that the depression dealt with my father's death...which in part it did. BUT, I was already in a major bout of depression by the time that had happened. I had been taking Atavan and Paxil, prescribed by an Army MTF Psychiatrist in early 2000, months before my father passed. And his passing was sudden so it wasn't something I was already having to deal with. I don't know why the Heidelberg hospital doesn't have a record of my having been treated in their Psych clinnic, or of the prescriptions given to me. Can I use a reliable witness, such as my former chaplain and my wife's statemdng (she's a nurse) to explain that depression had already hit by the time my father died...and it went on for a much longer time afterwards also? Again, I downplayed this at the time because I didn't want to lose my clearance. My VSO agrees with you that I should get it as secondary to my chronic pain. The thing is though that multiple doctors have diagnosed me with Major Depression for at least 18 months, and that's in the records they should have reviewed in making their decision. Plus I'm on two anti-depressants, and anti-anxiety medication, and lunesta to help me get to sleep, because of prolonged insomnia. It's 1215 AM as I write this, I have a nerve block procedure at 0800, and i'm lyingin bed wide awake, and this after I didn't fall asleep until 4 am this morning, getting up at 8:30 for work. thanks! TCK5810

I want to say thanks to eveyone on this site and in the forums. I have learned a lot since I joined, and have gained insight into a lot of things I think I would have missed otherwise. So today, I got a call from my VFW VSO telling me that I had been increased from 60% to 80%. I'm nearly ecstatic about that, but very irritated that they denied my claim for hypothyroidism, even though the rater acknowledged that I had a thyroid test while on active duty that showed my TSH as high. However he said I had never been diagnosed with the disease. Of course the detail they left out which I told them on multiple occasions is that I was never called/emailed/ nothing to tell me that my thyroid function function was out of whack. The rater also stated that I had not yet been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, nor was there any proof that I was on Synthroid (which I have been taking regularly since July 2009, and which the doctor tells me I have to take for the rest of my life). What gets me is that I just went through my complete medical record from Bethesda Navy hospital and on 7 different occasions the doctor stated hypothyroidism as one of my chronic conditions. On six occasions I can show where I've been prescribed levothyroxin. I'm not sure if the rater has a book that discusses drugs, but I find it hard to believe that he could miss that levothyroxin ='s sythroid. Also my Pain Doctor at the Navy hospital thinks that part of my all extremity neuropathies might be from late diagnosis (we're talking 9 years after my initial test discovered the problem while I was still on active duty!) of my hypothyroidism. The second thing that I'm upset about is that while the RO service connected both of my legs for radiculopathy, he only gave me 10% on my right leg and 0% on my left leg. This steams because all of my records dating back to a poor outcome double laminectomy in 2008 have hurt, and the pain has increased a lot since the surgery. It is so bad that it often keeps me up at night feeling the pain and the tingling from my knees down. Even when I went in post-op back in late 2008 and early 2009, I emphasized and the doctors notated the pain in my Left leg as having been an issue since I woke up in the recovery room. It almost seems as if the RO took some darts and threw it at a grid and made his decisions that way, because the severe pain in both legs (and presenting earlier in my left) has been noted in my post-retirement records for the last nearly 3 years. It seems that whoever reviewed my records and accepted my IME/IMO used the same dart method for my thyroid. Oh...the RO also kept my left arm and hand to 20%, even though I can barely move my fingers and I can't come close to closing them together, I dop things consistently I try to hold with that hand. It also becomes modeled and frozen, because the joints will be too stiff to move if I don't regularly take my lyrica. If I do try to bend any finger, I get shooting pain all the way up to my elbow, almost from a line from the finger to the elbow joint. The last issue I was denied on was for depression, which has been worsening, since I've been dealing with chronic severe pain for nearly 3 years. Even though they accepted that I had depression while on active duty, conveniently for me at the time, covered up by grief counseling for my father's passing (to keep my clearance), they didn't connect my current depression (listed in my records for at least the past year as Chronic Major Depression) to either my past bout (which lasted from November 1999 to JAnuary 2001), nor my issues with dealing with Chronic pain, which I explained as it was noted in my current medical records as causing me to miss more time at work (average of 1 day a week out sick), and isolating myself from friends co-workers and family. I have also seen a counselor nearly constantly since May of 2005 for depression brought on by pre-operative Cervical DDD, and now post-op pain. I'm not sure why they won't service connect it, and I'm waiting patiently to see my rating/award letter to see what logic they used, because it makes no sense to me. So while I'm happy that the VA has increased my award to 80%, I'm angry that they denied conditions that cause me great difficulty in daily living, and for me seem like slam/dunk conditions that should be S/C. Any ideas out there to help me proceed? I should also note that most of my increases came from a NOD I submitted w/ IME/IMO and DRO appeal after my last rating in Dec 2009. Can I appeal to the Regional Office Director, or am I now forced to go to the VBA? Also, recently my Pain Doctor, my Neurosurgeon, and an outside Neurosurgeon, along with a neurologist this past summer, diagnosed me with CRPS in my left arm and hand, Post Laminectomy Syndrome, Symapthetic Regional Dystrophy, Central Pain Syndrome Allodynia and Hypersensitivity in my left arm and hand, Cervicalgia,Hypothyroidism w/ abnormal weight gain, and a host of others that would take a page more to list. I'm on about 15 drugs just to make it through the day, and to deal with chronic insomnia (again not connected to anything, since I've been denied the two conditions that it would easily connect to).. So I am struggling through work and holding onto my job, even though the thought everyday of getting on the beltway and having to drive 2 hours or more, causes me more and more dred each day, because I know I'll pay for doing it by the end of the day with pain on a 10/10 scale by the time I get home in the evening...and that's for pretty much my entire body. Thanks for sharing in my happy news and bearing with me through my complaining and irritabilty for the other stuff!

I need some help/guidance on service connection for depression. While I was active duty a variety of events led me to have a near total breakdown beginning in November 1999. It got so back that my wife was very close to forceably having me admitted to Heidelberg Hospital in Germany. After several sessions with a Chaplain friend of ours, I finally relented and visited a Psychiatrist beginning in about February 2000. He started me on Atavan and Paxi, and I visited him about once a week for nearly 3 months. This is now where it gets complicated...At the end of April 2000, my father had a near fatal heart attach back homein Colorado (on My Daughter's 2nd birthday). I immediately flew back to be with my mom and family, because we weren't sure if he'd survive. As it turns out, he lingered for about 3 weeks, before finally passing away. I extended my emergency leave to help attend to his estate, and for lack of better explanation, I put my on troubles aside to help out my mom. I ran out of my drugs, and quite them cold turkey. Then I got back to Germany, just in time to PCS back to CONUS. I had access to my medical records (the paper ones at least), and I pulled out anything having to do with depression, because I knew I was coming up on my periodic TS reinvestigation, and I absolutely needed that clearance for the job I was going to. This isn't to say I was better though. I struggled with it for nearly a year longer, finally come out of that bout of depression in about spring 2001. Because I didn't want to lose the clearance, I decided against seeing any Psych or Psychologist, although my wife coudl tell you that I was a basket case at home, after holding together as much as I could at work. I also traveled a lot, so it gave me diversions in thought. Fast forward to my retirement physical in 2003, and I put on there that I had a short bout of depression, but I stated it was because of my father's death and was more grief related than anything else. I did this, because the retirement job I was hired for also need a TS/SCI clearance. So everything hinged around my trying to hide my depression to stayed employed in my field. In May 2005, I noticed that I was starting to experience a lot of anger issues, especially at home. I started seeing a counselor in the summer of 2005, but then it was easy to couch the sessions around dealing with our Autistic son. So I used many convenient excuses to hide the fact that I experienced several extended bouts of depression. And in 2005, I had no filed yet for any VA benefits. Then in January 2007, I had a C4-6 anterior fusion, which worked for a few months until I began having an unrelenting bout of severe pain. That led me to 7 monhs of cervical steroid epidurals. As they no lone worked, I agreed to a double laminectomy in June 2008, where the surgeon emplaced rods and screws. I woke up from that surgery with severe pain and hyperthesia to my left arm and hand. It didn't help that I could not get referred for physical or occupational therapy. Along with several other problems, I finally filed a comprehensive claim with the VA through my VFW VSO. I received an inital 70% evaluation, which was later knocked down to 60% because a QTC examiner (without ever doing an exam of my neck) said that I had full range of motion. That caused me to be dropped fom 20% post-surgery for my neck to 10% permanent. In the same claim, I was basically turned down for everything else. I submitted a NOD, and even went to an independent medical examiner who I thought said all the right things, and in most cases he did. He even commented on a Thyroid problem that at least started in 2000 when I was on active duty, except that nobody ever contacted me from the MTF to tell me that my thyroid was very low....more on that later. I have recently received my DRO review letter. It seems that I've been S/C'ed for nearly everything I had initially requested, although I don't yet know what level I'm at with any of those ratings yet. The letter, with very little discussion of the reduction on my neck, just stated that I was going to be placed back at 20%, and that I would also receive at 10% incease to 20% for DDD for the lumbar region. So I think for the moment I'm generally happy with where my claim is going. However, I was denied yet again for depression, even though I've been seeing a Psychologist pretty steady for 4 years, and I recently started seeing a MTF Psychiatrist (I'm no longer worried about clearances). In my NOD, I wrote a very lengthy explanation of my depression, and how I'd been seen at the Heidelberg Army Hospital, and that I had used my father's passing as a way not to call attention to the depression at the time. I also had my wife write a letter to state from her point of view how I have been. Now though, not only was I dealing with that initial depression, but because of the damage done to my spinal cord in my June 2008 surgery, the pain that was initially in my left arm and hand has spread to nearly all of my body. It has intensified in my Left arm and had to the point that I cannot stand even my kids touching me. I turn on it at night, and I wake up, or I never fall asleep because it hurts too much. I'm on many differnent drugs to help me sleep and several anti-depressents and anti-anxiety drugs. But apparently the VA didn't S/C my depression, because they have no records showing that I was ever treated for it; this after I told them what treatment facility I was seen at. Betweent he pain and the depression, my work is now effected signifcantly. i have a very high pressure position which demands much of me, especially in making decisions, but I out too much, and even when I'm there I feel like all I'm concentrating on is pain, since it never lets up now. Even if I didn't have depression during my A/D career, I sure have it now, after living with unrelenting pain for nearly 2 1/2 years! Still the DRO refused to S/C it! I need some advice on how to get them to understand what I'm going through. I mentioned that I had a problem with my thryroid (low) way back in 2000, that I was never told about. Well, when my initial claim came back denied for nearly eveything, for the first time I went through every single page of my SMR. By then though, I already had found out I had hypothyroidism, thanks to the insight of my new family doc. AFter my June 2008 surgery I had to completely quite physical activity, and my weight ballooned up 75 pounds. When I went in to see him about he, ran some blood tests and immediatley put me on thyroid replacement medicine. Fast forward to about this time last year when my big brown envelope showed up. When I saw that I had not been given a fair deal, I started lookikng though every page of my record. Low and behold, I found out that I had been administered a thyroid blood test in August 2000, and had never been notified of the results, which were nearly identical to the test I had been given in August 2009. So I filed a new claim for hypothyroidism. My weight has come down some, but it's still way above where it should be,and this with a very strict diet. I take synthoid everyday now,and will for the rest of my life. I can only wonder why nobody at the military hospital notified me back when I was still active, so that I could have started the medication 8 years earlier, but that's where it is now. I was also denied S/C for insomnia, rather because of the depression, chronic pain, or hypothryroidism (which hasn't been adjudicatedyet), since it is not a disease but a symptom. So I'm stuck in not knowing how else to make the VA understand the depression is longstanding,and it has gotten worse because of the chronic pain Ilive with daily, eventhough I tried to explain that to them. I'm sure my next step will be to appreal to the VBA. But I want to make sure my ducks are in a row, and my explanations can be substantiated. I'm sorry for such a long message, but Ihope there are some seasoned folks out there who can advise me on what to do next. Thanks, TCK5810

I need some help/guidance on service connection for depression. While I was active duty a variety of events led me to have a near total breakdown beginning in November 1999. It got so back that my wife was very close to forceably having me admitted to Heidelberg Hospital in Germany. After several sessions with a Chaplain friend of ours, I finally relented and visited a Psychiatrist beginning in about February 2000. He started me on Atavan and Paxi, and I visited him about once a week for nearly 3 months. This is now where it gets complicated...At the end of April 2000, my father had a near fatal heart attach back homein Colorado (on My Daughter's 2nd birthday). I immediately flew back to be with my mom and family, because we weren't sure if he'd survive. As it turns out, he lingered for about 3 weeks, before finally passing away. I extended my emergency leave to help attend to his estate, and for lack of better explanation, I put my on troubles aside to help out my mom. I ran out of my drugs, and quite them cold turkey. Then I got back to Germany, just in time to PCS back to CONUS. I had access to my medical records (the paper ones at least), and I pulled out anything having to do with depression, because I knew I was coming up on my periodic TS reinvestigation, and I absolutely needed that clearance for the job I was going to. This isn't to say I was better though. I struggled with it for nearly a year longer, finally come out of that bout of depression in about spring 2001. Because I didn't want to lose the clearance, I decided against seeing any Psych or Psychologist, although my wife coudl tell you that I was a basket case at home, after holding together as much as I could at work. I also traveled a lot, so it gave me diversions in thought. Fast forward to my retirement physical in 2003, and I put on there that I had a short bout of depression, but I stated it was because of my father's death and was more grief related than anything else. I did this, because the retirement job I was hired for also need a TS/SCI clearance. So everything hinged around my trying to hide my depression to stayed employed in my field. In May 2005, I noticed that I was starting to experience a lot of anger issues, especially at home. I started seeing a counselor in the summer of 2005, but then it was easy to couch the sessions around dealing with our Autistic son. So I used many convenient excuses to hide the fact that I experienced several extended bouts of depression. And in 2005, I had no filed yet for any VA benefits. Then in January 2007, I had a C4-6 anterior fusion, which worked for a few months until I began having an unrelenting bout of severe pain. That led me to 7 monhs of cervical steroid epidurals. As they no lone worked, I agreed to a double laminectomy in June 2008, where the surgeon emplaced rods and screws. I woke up from that surgery with severe pain and hyperthesia to my left arm and hand. It didn't help that I could not get referred for physical or occupational therapy. Along with several other problems, I finally filed a comprehensive claim with the VA through my VFW VSO. I received an inital 70% evaluation, which was later knocked down to 60% because a QTC examiner (without ever doing an exam of my neck) said that I had full range of motion. That caused me to be dropped fom 20% post-surgery for my neck to 10% permanent. In the same claim, I was basically turned down for everything else. I submitted a NOD, and even went to an independent medical examiner who I thought said all the right things, and in most cases he did. He even commented on a Thyroid problem that at least started in 2000 when I was on active duty, except that nobody ever contacted me from the MTF to tell me that my thyroid was very low....more on that later. I have recently received my DRO review letter. It seems that I've been S/C'ed for nearly everything I had initially requested, although I don't yet know what level I'm at with any of those ratings yet. The letter, with very little discussion of the reduction on my neck, just stated that I was going to be placed back at 20%, and that I would also receive at 10% incease to 20% for DDD for the lumbar region. So I think for the moment I'm generally happy with where my claim is going. However, I was denied yet again for depression, even though I've been seeing a Psychologist pretty steady for 4 years, and I recently started seeing a MTF Psychiatrist (I'm no longer worried about clearances). In my NOD, I wrote a very lengthy explanation of my depression, and how I'd been seen at the Heidelberg Army Hospital, and that I had used my father's passing as a way not to call attention to the depression at the time. I also had my wife write a letter to state from her point of view how I have been. Now though, not only was I dealing with that initial depression, but because of the damage done to my spinal cord in my June 2008 surgery, the pain that was initially in my left arm and hand has spread to nearly all of my body. It has intensified in my Left arm and had to the point that I cannot stand even my kids touching me. I turn on it at night, and I wake up, or I never fall asleep because it hurts too much. I'm on many differnent drugs to help me sleep and several anti-depressents and anti-anxiety drugs. But apparently the VA didn't S/C my depression, because they have no records showing that I was ever treated for it; this after I told them what treatment facility I was seen at. Betweent he pain and the depression, my work is now effected signifcantly. i have a very high pressure position which demands much of me, especially in making decisions, but I out too much, and even when I'm there I feel like all I'm concentrating on is pain, since it never lets up now. Even if I didn't have depression during my A/D career, I sure have it now, after living with unrelenting pain for nearly 2 1/2 years! Still the DRO refused to S/C it! I need some advice on how to get them to understand what I'm going through. I mentioned that I had a problem with my thryroid (low) way back in 2000, that I was never told about. Well, when my initial claim came back denied for nearly eveything, for the first time I went through every single page of my SMR. By then though, I already had found out I had hypothyroidism, thanks to the insight of my new family doc. AFter my June 2008 surgery I had to completely quite physical activity, and my weight ballooned up 75 pounds. When I went in to see him about he, ran some blood tests and immediatley put me on thyroid replacement medicine. Fast forward to about this time last year when my big brown envelope showed up. When I saw that I had not been given a fair deal, I started lookikng though every page of my record. Low and behold, I found out that I had been administered a thyroid blood test in August 2000, and had never been notified of the results, which were nearly identical to the test I had been given in August 2009. So I filed a new claim for hypothyroidism. My weight has come down some, but it's still way above where it should be,and this with a very strict diet. I take synthoid everyday now,and will for the rest of my life. I can only wonder why nobody at the military hospital notified me back when I was still active, so that I could have started the medication 8 years earlier, but that's where it is now. I was also denied S/C for insomnia, rather because of the depression, chronic pain, or hypothryroidism (which hasn't been adjudicatedyet), since it is not a disease but a symptom. So I'm stuck in not knowing how else to make the VA understand the depression is longstanding,and it has gotten worse because of the chronic pain Ilive with daily, eventhough I tried to explain that to them. I'm sure my next step will be to appreal to the VBA. But I want to make sure my ducks are in a row, and my explanations can be substantiated. I'm sorry for such a long message, but Ihope there are some seasoned folks out there who can advise me on what to do next. Thanks, TCK5810

Hi, I was denied for IBS also, but I did get rated for GERD (which was a little surprising to me). I was told the same argument about not being chronic. I admit I learned how to cope with the disease in my younger years in the Army, but i still had frequent bouts. In fact I spent a whole year suffering through this daily while I was stationed in Tunisia. I think my problem is that the records from that period are in French (since I was seen in a local clinic), and the VA did get a translation to see what the report said. Plus I also reported problems as late as 2001, which lead me to get a colonoscopy...diagnosis...IBS. I have active prescription to help control it, and I've been seen several times for it through our clinic. Yet it's not chronic and there's no service connection. TCK

Thanks for the replies. LarryJ, I never really thought of it in the stark terms you provide. I also have lower back problems from the same airborne school accident, for which I've been rated at 10%. Again, no factoring in for pain, and the loss of dexterity I have standing to long, doing any type of work requiring bending (like yard work), or sports which I no longer can do. I will keep what you wrote in mind as that problem gets worse. I guess because I have a plate in front of my spine with a fusion, and two rods and 4 screws holding the back of the same area together, I almost thought it could get better. Of course it doesn't because the pain in that area across my shoulders and down my left arm and hand are constant. As the day wears on, it's really painful, and then I get to face my 90 minute commute on the DC beltway. I also never thought of ratings by each nerve. Can that be done?? How about progressively worse pain? Tck

Hi everyone. I read through this discussion thread and found some good information for my case. I understand that Chronic Pain Syndrome is a mental rating, however I don't understand how the VA factors in post-surgical nerve pain, which in my case is constant, unrelenting and not controlled with medication. I woke up from a double laminectomy back in June 2008, and the first thing I felt was a painful sensation coming from my left hand, which was resting on the cold metal of the side of the gurney in the recovery room. The first words out of my mouth were, "what happened to my left hand." My surgeon told me that the nerves feeding my left arm had snapped once the laminae were removed, because they had been so restricted for so long (at C4-6 I have two rods and four screws). As I came to more I noticed it was painful on my forearm and top of my hand from hyper sensation and painful on my palm from numbness. The doctor thought it would heal, but it's now been 19 months post-surgery and it's gotten more painful, not less. I brought this to the attention of my QTC medical examiner, but he seemed to forgot anything I said, because he barely addressed anything more than minor pain on movement, and gave me 20% for L. arm pain, and 20% for neck (soon to be reduced to 10%, because in the words of the QTC doctor, "I have full range of motion in my neck with only some pain on movement.) He didn't take any measurements, and concluded I had +45 degrees on all motions. What he didn't say is that I live with pretter intense pain in my left arm and hand, along my shoulders and down my neck and back where the scar is from the surgery. I guess I'm going to have to address this in my NOD and I'm looking into getting an IMO as well, because I think the examiner blew it! TCK

Thanks for the info. I've never seen it laid out like that. Here's my questions though. First, I think you left off the 10% for lower back (either that, or I left it off my original email). When I look at the rating they sent, it appears to be added up individually to get to the 70% (30% Gerd, 10% Migraines, 10% lower back, and 20% L. arm pain). Those 4 ratings add to 70%. It isn't until after that is presented, does the discussion bring in the DDD for my neck. So I guess my question would be: If there were no other ratings involved, I would be at 70%, wouldn't I? To me that is what the rating letter says. So how does bringing back in the 20% for the neck (to be reduced--again another story, because it hasn't gotten better as the VA says it has) cause it to go down, and it would seem the 10% for the scar would be added in on. My understanding was that the higher rating was to be used, so that's why I thought I would at least be 70%, since that's what the letter stated up front.

Broncovet, I'm working with my VSO rep, at least I hope so. I was supposed to get an email from her Wed. or Thursday,but nothing came. I will have to call her back Monday. Anyway, to your point. You're right they are trying to downgrade a rating for Cervical Disc Degeneration from 20% to 10% based on bogus measurements by the QTC doctor who made no measurements at all, unless he was using Kentucky windage from across the room. Before my second filing I had a rating of 40% (20% neck, 20% L. arm, and 10% scar disfigurement). When I got my second rating, aside from the new ratings (adding up to 50%, but all from different body systems), I was told I would maintain my 20% L. arm rating, but would be downgraded on my neck rating, but there was no mention of the neck scar I was awarded for in my earlier filing. Anyway, it seems to me that since I had a 40% rating, that should have been added on to my 50%, for at least a new baseline start of 90%. From there, they could have then made their argument about the neck. Then I'd only have that to challenge. I have no idea what happened with the scar rating, especially since they addressed the other two prior ratings. I know they had to have looked at it, because they took a digital picture. On another issue, even if they dowgraded me on my neck to 10% and dropped the scar, I still have 20% on my arm. If I had never filed on my neck and only my arm, it seems I'd have the 20% rating, so I can't see why they'd reduce my overall rating for those two problems to 10%, if only one was reduced, even with the VA math that's done. So I guess I have much to disupute. I've thought about requesting a hearing, just so I can understand whatever logic it was they followed, because it doesn't make sense in my ratings letter. Like I think I wrote below, it looks like one person started working it then it transferred to someone else, and nobody did any check to see if the logic tracked. SO...to my way of thinking I should have nothing less than 70%, and then addin in the scarring, I should be at 80%. I could almost live with that, except I no that the QTC doctor could not possibly have been able to determine I had improved based on his exam of me. In fact, I ended up going to the Emergency Room Tuesday with severe pain in the left side of my neck, which then ended up keeping me at home this past Wed-Friday. Today is the first day that the pain wasn't so bad. One good piece of news I received today was that VA/DFAS had finally finished my CRSC review (based on my prior 40% rating) and I was told I'm owed just shy of $7K (the army had already given me its share ($3600). That was a nice belated Christmas present. tck

Hello Vync and everyone else. I'm new to these forums and trying to become active in them. I have had both neck and lower back injuries and issues since active duty. I was luckily able to get 10% for my lower back (I say lucky because I have a battery for a cervical spinal cord stimulator riding in my hip so all I can get are normal x-rays and not MRIs. I have gotten very little for my neck, even though I've had two surgeries. One was a double ANCF, with a plate between C4-6. That didn't help all that much, because once the discs were removed, the stenosis proved so severe that my pain continued. That led to a double laminectomy at the same area from the rear C4-6. Unfortunately for me that one led to nerve damage in my left arm and hand (I'm continuing to lose function in that hand, although I'm only at 20% for it). I tried to hold off from that second surgery for nearly a year. I had a course of 6 epidural injections into the site and each one worked less...the last one not at all. Plus mentally, I didn't want that needle going down into my spine anymore. I'm currently getting ready to fight a reduction in the rating (20% to 10%) for my neck DDD, becaused based on the range of motion finding the QTC doctor submitted in August this past year, I have full range of motion. He must have mixed up my file with someone elses! I can barely move my neck in any direction (part due to pain, part due to all the hardware sitting in there), let alone the full range. And he said he observed no problem with repetitive motion, and he didn't even test me for that; nor did he use any instruments when he watched from across the exam room at me trying to move my neck when he asked me to during the exam. Anyway, now I'm going to fight that.

Thanks for your repley Berta. Here are the answers to your questions: Did you get any retro on the new award? Actually the ratings letter says "You will not recieve retro payment because you are also in receipt of military retired pay which is greater than your VA compensation award." they make reference later on to me possibly being eligible for CRSC (which I already knew, because I was receiving that for my prior ratings which totaled 40%, since all were sustained from the accident at Airborne School) and/or CRDP, and that I would hear something from DFAS. They said they're working with DFAS to resolve...we'll see. If so if I were you I would get an independent medical opinion from a real doctor who specializes in this type of disability. I've got an email into my neurosurgeon who has continued to see me since my surgeries, and an appointment with my primary care doctor. I'm hoping that either one/both would provide me that IMO. I'll also ask my doctor for a consult to go see a regular neurologist if need be. They will need a copy of the VA exam in which the VA said "since the QTC doctor reported I was doing much better and my ROM was better than d" etc and all other available records. The VFW helped me put together the package that resulted in this most recent rating. They have actually been pretty helpful from the start, and though my representative left, the one who has taken over has seemed like she wants to help. I actually just got off the phone with her. She plans to email no later than Thursday of what she can do to proceed. I wonder if she is able to get ahold of the VA exam quicker than me trying to get it? BTW are you able to work? If you arent working if I were you I would file for TDIU as well as SSA disability. Right now I'm able to work, and luckily I have a civil service position. There are days when I probably should have stayed home because of the pain (since the 90 minute commute both ways doesn't make it easier), but I've toughed it out and gone in anyway. AS it is, I've only let myself miss about a week in the past year. For my Degen. Disc Disear, in the rating and in the CFR it states the amount of time for "incapcitating episodes" in the last year. For 20% it's at least "2 weeks but less than 4 weeks" and for 30% it's at least "4 weeks but less than 6 weeks in the past 12 months". Do you (or anyone else) have any idea when that clock starts? Is it from the date of initial filing? From when you were seen by the rating doctor? If either of those, it seems like I would have qualified based on my post-surgery recovery period. I was out of work from June 5, 2008 to July 27, 2008, for a total of almost 8 weeks, and I filed on Sept 18th, 2008. Since I wasn't seen by the doctor until the end of August 2009, then I guess those weeks wouldn't count? So does anybody know when that clock starts? TDIU is paid at the 100% rate. Did they consider you for but deny TDIU in the decision? No. What reason did they give for denial (unless you are still employed) Still employed.

Hello, I sent a message to another board, but i didn't find it there, so reading through this topic I decided I'd send some questions to the forum members here. After a 2007 Double ANCF with plate, I had a relapse with a enormous pain about 6 months later. I retired in 2003 from the Army, but for a variety of circumstances I never got a round to getting my VA physcial. I did get my retirement physical though. So after my neck got worse, I decided I needed to file to protect my family for the long term. It was for specific problems with my neck and didn't cover anything else. I got 40% for three Cervical issues (20% for left arm radicular pain; 20% for degenerative disk disease; and 10% for disfigurement scar on the middle back of my neck. Because my pain was so bad during this time, I was hoping I'd get hirer, but I felt like at least the Dr. (QTC) gave me a good look. In July 2008 I ended up having to have a second surgery, a double laminectomy at the same levels (C4-5). I decided to take it after taking 6 courses over 7 months epidural steroid shots in the area. The surgery didn't help, and I woke up with nerve damage in my left arm and hand. While I had not filed for the scar or the left arm pain when I first filed in 2007, because I was close post-op the VA gave me the ratings a above for them. I decided based on a friend's advice that I should go back to the VA and get the full physical. He recommended the VFW to help, so I went through them and filed a new claim in Sept 2008. I ended up going for my second full physical (at QTC again) this past August 2009. The Doctor gave me a cursory look and cautioned my about neck surgeries in general. He never once took a measurement of my ROM for my neck, which is at least as bad as it was in my first QTC visit in 2008. He took a vial of blood and a lower back x-ray and that was it. I also was sent to get a Barium swallow and endoscopy, because I claimed GERD (fairly severe and limited control even while on double dosing of Nexium). I didn't hear anything else until I got my rating decision yesterday. I hope I don't sound greedy here, because they rated me at 70%, to be reduced to 60% in April because of the apparent improvement that the QTC doctor noted. He had me at full range of motion, which I know was not true and he also said he tested me using repetitive technique, which also didn't do. So here's what my new rating is: 30% GERD, 10% lower back, and 10% for Migraines. I'm assuming since they aren't connected to each other, that the total for these three is 50% (although I have no idea if that assumption is good or not. I also was granted 20% for left radicular pain. this gave me a total of 70%. At first I thought that was great and I was satisfied, however I turned the page and found out that the VA proposed to reduced my degenerative disk disease level from the prior rating from 20% to10%. Which is the worse part of the pain I'm dealing with on a daily basis. In my total rating I don't see it included at all which doesn't make since. Also I don't see any rating for the scar on my neck that I got 10% for on the first rating. I know that the doctor would have addressed it, because he took a digital picture of it. It too has not change in shape, sunken hole where the laminae bones used to be, or length. i'm totally confused as to why they wouldn't have said they were either taking it away from me, or reducing that one. So here's my thought. The rating office should have taken my then current 40% rating and then added on the 50% from the new disability ratings, which would have put me at 40%. As it is now, it appears that they uncoupled the three earlier ratings since the 20% for Left arm and hand pain appears by itself. Here's the kicker though. The RO proposes to reduce my 20% for my neck to 10% because I'm doing much better, which is not true. I live with pain at the 7- 8 on the pain scale daily, plus I'm losing sensation in my left hand as time goes along, while having hyper-sensations on the top of my hand. In short nothing about me changed from my first VA QTC exam, even if their Dr. said so. Now here's my dilemma. It looks to me that if I had never claimed for my neck or the scar, I'd be at a permanent 70% rating. I am totally confused how the RO can decide that he's taking 10% away from a older rating that was not even listed about the final one, by saying that the VA doesn't use straight math. I understood that they added different when I got my first rating. But i can't understand why my neck rating was not addressed, and why the 20% DDD while not in the final listing of ratings can cause me to drop from the 70% I was given to 60% on 1 April. I'm in a quandry about how to proceed. I'm going to hopefully talk with the VFW person who has been helping me tomorrow to see if she can explain what happened and how everything was figured. I'm leaving toward a personal hearing to address the issues if this doesn't work. This decision also affects the CRSC payment that I get from the Army, since it is for the three orignal ratings. If one is reduced, I'm sure that will hurt there for me. My instinct is that two separate ROs worked on my file. It seems disjointed to me, and I don't understand why the scar was not addressed the second time. I'm open to any and all advice from the group. Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance. Tom

First, let me apologize for the length of this post, but to me I'm in a confusing situation. I need some advice. I’ve been reading postings on this website for about 18 months and it has helped me to be knowledgeable to a great degree on dealing with the VA. I received a rating of 40% in August 2008. It included 20% Degenerative Disc Disease, post operative (I have had a double ANCF C4-5 in Feb 2007 and a double discectomy at the same level with mass lateral screw fixation in June 2008); 20% Left radial nerve dysfunction post-op; and 10% posterior neck scar, post-op.. This resulted from a worsening neck and left arm condition since an accident during Airborne Training in 1985. I retired from the Army in July 2003, but because of OPTEMPO and a federal civilian job offer that took me to Iraq as soon as I retired, I did not get my VA retirement physical. I know that was not a good idea and as my neck condition worsened I knew that I hadn’t done that, so I figured I would never be eligible for disability. A friend convinced me otherwise, and so in the period between the two surgeries and during a particularly painful period I filed my first claim on-line, which led to the results above. During my second surgery in 2008, I sustained a nerve injury that gives me continuous pain down the left side of my neck, in my left arm and also my hand. My palm is numb (and to me it seems to be worsening as time goes by and it gets harder to use it when I need any grip at all) and the top of my hand and my lower arm has hyper sensitivity that makes it hurt to most touching. Right after my surgery I work up feeling pain in my left hand which was laying against a bed rail. My surgeon told me that the nerves had snapped when the laminae bones were removed because my spinal stenosis was putting so much pressure on them. He told me that was the source of the pain and sometimes the pain went away in about a year of healing. It’s now 18 months later and the pain has actually gotten worse over time. Between November and December I was home from work (I have a 90 minute driving commute) 4 days because it hurt so bad. Anyway, the pain is still there, I believe because of it I have less range of motion than I did immediately post surgery. I deal with pain on a level of 8-9 daily, and the pain medications I’m given blunt only a small portion of it. I have had numerous visits back with my surgeon, and have even had a spinal cord stimulator implanted; although it gives me minimal support because by the time I had received it the scar tissue was already too much for them to get up as high as they wanted to put it in my spine. The surgeon has told me there’s not much more he can do. He gave me a diagnosis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. I work at a medical research organization, and in checking with them, they also said there’s just not much out there to help it. The nerves are injured and few medications help. Perhaps they’ll regenerate or not. So I deal with that daily, and it has not gotten better. In September 2008 a friend of mine convinced me that since I had never had the complete VA physical to file again, but this time through a VSO, which I did. I met with my VSO that month and we went through my entire active duty medical record and then she filed the claim. I knew that she was going out on pregnancy leave in two days, but she gave me another person’s phone number who I could work with. As luck would have it, she never came back, and I let the case linger until finally in mid-December I called back and was told that my file was complete but was with the CRDP office at the VA RO. She said if I didn’t hear anything back by this coming week, to call her back. During the intervening time between filing and calling her, I had another physical with the QTC doctor in August 2009, which I expected this time to be more in depth since I had claimed other service connected conditions in my second claim (which was not so much a NOD to the first one, but a complete new filing to me). The second exam was actually shorter than the first and the doctor took no range of motion measurements at all. He had some blood drawn and took a lower back x-ray and sent me on my way. I also was sent to get a barium swallow and endoscopy for my GERD. That was the last I heard until today when I received my new rating. I want to preface this with saying I’m not trying to be greedy, because I did receive a 70% rating, up from my earlier 40%. (I never felt the pain of the off set, because the Army granted me the CRSC benefit since the original problem started during Airborne School). Here’s what my new rating gives me: GERD 30%, Migraines 10%, Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease 10%, and Left Radial nerve dysfunction 20%. That adds up to 70%, so I was fine. I read a few pages further and saw that the 20% I had initially received from the first claim for Degenerative Disc Disease, post op would stay where it was for 2 months, but on 1 April it would be reduced by 10%, since the QTC doctor reported I was doing much better and my ROM was better than during my first exam. They only problem was that this rating was not included int he chart of rated conditions, which to me looks like it doesn't even play into the 70% rating. A quick backtrack...I only received a cursory glance on ROM during my QTC exam, and that from across the exam room. Still, I don’t know how he could have even concluded I was doing better given what I told him of my symptoms and the number of times I had been back to see my surgeon post-op; and even the lack of success from the spinal implant. That 10% reduction I was told would lower my overall rating of 70% back to 60% beginning 1 April unless I filed an appeal. Of course that made me angry just because I know I’m not better than I was when seen by the first QTC doctor, and in fact I think I’m worse as far as symptoms go. The next thing I did was to read both ratings side by side, and then I noticed that neither the degenerative disc disease nor the neck scar are even addressed within the 70% in my second ratings letter. I know that they were both addressed at exam time, because QTC took a picture of my neck scar and had me move my neck. I understand the VA additive factors so that 50% can add up to only 40% on a rating, but it seems to me that I’m having 10% reduced on a 20% that is not even given to me this second time around. I hope that doesn’t sound confusing. The RO makes note of the 20% deep in the letter but it is not in the chart of ratings, which doesn’t make sense. It seems to me that they should have taken my first rating 40% and added the new disabilities, each separate issues adding to 50%, which would have given me 90%, then if the RO felt a need to decrement, it should have been from that level to 80%. I think I'd have to write another page or two to give the complete picture, and I know this is long already. I don’t know that I’ve done a good job of describing the history and current issue, but I hope so. To me it looks like somebody started the rating and then someone else picked up mid-stream, deciding to separate out all of my early ratings as individual, then not adding two back in, but taking off 10% from one of the two leftover ratings and then subtracting that 10% of of the 70% to put me at 60% come April 1st. So I need some guidance from some of the knowledgeable folk out there who may have some experience with a problem like this. Where do I go from here. Help!